


Find my way back

by angelicmisskitty



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Adopted Children, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternative Universe - No Island, Eventual Smut, F/M, Growing Up, Running Away
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-17
Updated: 2016-08-14
Packaged: 2018-04-21 04:15:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 210,996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4814585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelicmisskitty/pseuds/angelicmisskitty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After her parents got killed in a car accident, Felicity ended up in an adoptive family. When the situation escalates, Felicity runs away and finds shelter in Thea Queen’s home, her High School friend. Spending her time at Queen Mansion, trying to hide her crush on Thea’s brother Oliver, Felicity tries to find her place in life.</p><p>Olicity AU - no Island, no Arrow, just a College Oliver Queen and a High School Felicity Smoak.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This started as a single Chapter thing and quickly morphed into this beast of a Story. I'm already writing on Chapter 4 with no end near in sight. :)
> 
> Rated M for later Chapters. Just to be on the safe side :)

** 2 years ago **

Life wasn’t easy for Felicity. But she managed. At least that was what she told herself and everyone asking.  
Living at home was the one thing she struggled with the most, actually.

Home. She didn’t even call it that.

 

When her parents died in a tragic car accident while she was on her first day in Elementary school, Felicity didn’t understand the full concept of adoptive parents or living in someone else’s family.  
At 15 years of age, she did. And she hated it.

 

Her parents didn’t have any living relatives that could have taken care of her after the accident, so at 4 years of age, Felicity went to the first Orphanage available at that time.  
Almost one year later, a young couple picked her up and took her to their home. She was the third child they had adopted from that Orphanage, but she was the first girl in the household besides her stepmother.

Accommodating with her once-again new surroundings had been hard for her. With her parents, Felicity always had a big room for herself with large windows, giving her lots and lots of space for all her toys and plastic horses to play with. At the Orphanage, she had to share a room with 20 other kids and almost all her toys had been taken away from her. Only what she could fit into a small suitcase, stored under her bed, was hers now. And even though she had to share her room and her belongings with other children at the Orphanage, she started to enjoy her life there. It never got boring and she even made friends with one or two girls there before she was picked up by her new family.

 

But as soon as she arrived at her new home and her new stepmother showed her her room, in the basement of the house, with nothing but a small bed and a closet and almost no natural light except the one coming from the small barred basement window, Felicity badly wanted to go back to the Orphanage and share her room with all the other children again.

 

Her family moved multiple times until they finally settled down in Detroit and Felicity had to share her room with her two brothers. Every time she managed to make new friends in school, her parents announced they would be moving. Felicity never understood the reasons behind it, though. Her stepmother had been working as a Cashier and never had a problem finding a new job quickly after they moved. But since their first move away from her hometown, her stepfather hadn’t been working at all. He usually sat at home, watching Baseball, drinking copious amounts of beer. When her brothers returned from school, they usually joined him at the TV but Felicity never cared for that. She always went to their room, hiding under the sheets of her bed, reading Tech books and Magazines that she brought home from the school library.

When she turned 15, Felicity got a crush on her neighbor Matt. Matt was 2 years older than her and his parents had a serious drinking problem, which he tried to hide as good as possible, but Felicity didn’t care for that. Every time she saw him outside, mowing the front lawn or washing his parents’ vintage Sports car, she took her books and went outside to read on the front porch, so she could keep a close eye on him.

Matt always grinned and waved at her and Felicity always blushed and hid her face behind her books. But one day, he strode up to their front porch and started talking to her. Felicity was so embarrassed and nervous that she couldn’t actually hear what he was saying; all she could do was staring into his eyes like she was hypnotized. When Matt cleared his throat and looked at her expectantly, Felicity realized he must have asked her a question.  
“I’m sorry, what?”

Matt chuckled slightly at her. “I said I’m heading to town, need to grab some things from the Mall for my grandma and I asked if you’d want to join me?” he smiled at her, clearly a bit nervous.

Felicity blushed at that, but considered his offer for a moment. It wasn’t often that she got the chance to leave the house in the afternoon or head into town at all. She didn’t have many friends in Detroit and walking there alone wasn’t really an option. Besides, she didn’t have any money to spend anywhere, so she never considered it.  
“Uhm…” was all she could bring out and she was fairly certain she was staring at him like a deer caught in the headlights.

Matt chuckled lightly. “I mean… we’re neighbors for a while now and I figured it would be a nice chance to get to know each other a bit?”

Without thinking too much about it, Felicity agreed.  
“Alright,” she announced before she closed her books and got up from the canopy swing. “I just need to bring these inside and let my family know. I’ll meet you at your parents’ car in 5 minutes.” she smiled at him and slowly made her way to the front door.

“Oh, that’s my car, not my parents.” he laughed. “Grams gave it to me last year when I got my license.”

Felicity’s eyebrows shot up at that. “Oh! I’m sorry, I always thought that –“

“It’s okay. Most people think it’s not mine. So… at the car in 5?” he asked and Felicity just quickly nodded before she stepped inside.

 

Her stepfather and her brothers were sitting in front of the TV once again, watching some Football Match when she stepped into the living room.  
“I’m heading out with a friend. I will be home before Dinner.” Felicity announced but no one spared her any glance. Her father just dismissively waved his hand in the air and made a grumbling sound, so Felicity shrugged her shoulders and left the House.

She was done worrying about any of her family members or try and figure out why they were like that. Her brothers ignored her most of the time while her stepfather always looked at her dismissively and as if she wasn’t worthy to that family. Her stepmother though, always made sure Felicity dressed _’conservatively’_ so she wouldn’t put her family in disgrace.  
“We don’t want you to make us the talk of town with inappropriate clothes or slutty behavior.” her mother told her almost every day before school. And it wasn’t that Felicity was running around in super short skirts, climbing any available man like a tree. In fact, Matt was the very first man she found interest in, so she decided to hide that from her mother for as long as possible.

 

When she stepped outside, Matt was already waiting for her, leaned next to his car. He looked stunning in his white Shirt and leather jacket. She smiled and blushed at the same time, still too overwhelmed that he basically asked her out on a _’Mall Date’_ as she decided to call it in her head.

They spent the afternoon shopping at the local Mall where Matt worked down the list his grandmother had given him. They didn’t talk much – well, Felicity didn’t – Matt always asked her questions and Felicity always replied, but she was still too nervous to ask him anything herself.

 

When they arrived back home 2 hours later, Felicity helped him get all bags to the front porch before she started making her way to her House. Before she could take a step down his porch though, Matt grabbed her wrist, spun her around and pressed his lips firmly on hers.  
She gasped and stood frozen on the spot, unable to react properly. When Matt slipped his other arm around her waist and pulled her flush to his body, her head tilted back slightly, giving him a better angle to deepen the kiss. Just when he slid his tongue over her lower lip, Felicity pushed him away and took a step back, breathing heavily.  
“I wanted to do that all day.” Matt grinned at her and Felicity had to blush heavily.

“I should go, I’m sure my parents are already waiting for me.” Felicity said in a shaky voice, taking two steps backwards down his front porch, always watching him while she moved, before she turned with a smile and quickly made her way over to their House.

As soon as she entered their home, her stepmother forcefully grabbed her arm and pulled her into the kitchen.  
“Ow! You are hurting me!” Felicity yelled, trying to loosen the grip on her wrist while her stepmother dragged her through the house.

“That neighbor you just came back from? You are not seeing him again!” her mother firmly told her in a voice that left no room for objection.

Felicity looked at her completely dumbfounded before she took a look out of the kitchen window and realized Matt was still there, unpacking the last goods from his car. Her mother must have seen them.  
“Wha –“

“NO, Felicity! You are my daughter and being your mother I will make sure you are dating the right person, at the right time. That time is not now and that person is certainly not that boy next door!” her mother practically yelled at her and Felicity had to flinch at the harsh tone. “You are my only daughter and god help me I will make sure the guy you are going to date is a reasonable one that I would consider approving of producing a good heir to this family and not just some guy down the street!”

Felicity’s mouth fell open at that. Had her stepmother just told her she will be the one to pick the guys Felicity would be allowed to date and that Felicity is about to produce Babies for that Family? Anger slowly creeped up in her while she looked at her stepmother who still waved an angry finger at her. Before she could say anything else though, Felicity suddenly spoke up, taking an angry step towards her stepmother.  
“YOU are not my mother, my mother died years ago! And I will date whoever I want, not who you consider worthy!”

That earned her an angry slap in the face. Felicity held her cheek, trying to soothe the sting before she took a step back from her mother and gave her an evil glare, even though tears started pricking in her eyes.

“So that’s what this is all about? You only brought me into this family so you get to play grandma? Well good luck trying to get Sam or Max to impregnate some chick you consider worthy. I’m not going to Date someone because you want me to and I sure as hell won’t get pregnant just to keep up any family line – a family line which wouldn’t even be YOURS in the first place, by the way!”

That earned her the second slap. Her stepmother was furious and just pulled her by the ponytail, dragging Felicity upstairs to their room. Felicity screamed in pain and tried to loosen the grip on her hair while her stepmother pushed her into their room and on her bed.  
“You are not going to leave this room until I say so. You are not going to school for the rest of the week. And you won’t be seeing that guy again. I’m going to tell your father now. I’m sure he’ll have a word with you later, too.” her stepmother blared at her before she forcefully closed the door and locked it.

 

Felicity crawled from where her stepmother shoved her to the ground onto her bed and curled her feet up to her chest. As soon as the door had been closed, Felicity started crying. She always hated being a part of that family, she always tried to detach from them as much as possible and she was surprised how much her family let her. It made her even more confused as to why they picked her up from the Orphanage in the first place. She never felt motherly loved from her stepmother and even less from her stepfather, it always seemed like she was just there and everyone was living its life around her. Now, after what her stepmother just told her, it all became a lot clearer to her.

 

She thought about running away a lot.  
Actually, Felicity always thought about it when her step-parents once again announced they would be moving. Every time Felicity heard that, she knew she would have to say goodbye to her newfound friends again, leaving them behind and trying to find new ones at the new place. The older she got, the more often she thought about it. But it always came up to that one thought – where should she run to? It wasn’t that she had any family members that could take her in until she was old enough to live on her own, and the friends that she made almost never stayed in touch with her after she moved away, except for two people. Barry Allen, a funny guy and her lab partner in Central City, and Thea Queen, the lively brunette girl she met at Starling City High.  
Felicity spent a lot of time with Thea at the Queen stables, going out for a ride or just taking care of the horses. Felicity never had the chance to own a pet, let alone a horse and Thea was happy to share. The women bonded quickly, even though they came from such different worlds. Thea, the spoiled rich kid living in that humongous castle with a huge Pool and an own horse stable; and Felicity, the orphan with the terrible adoptive family living in a small, old home in the Glades. Thea never cared, though. She liked Felicity’s babbles and her weird behavior from time to time and was very glad when Felicity helped her pass the Math and Chem exams in School, so Thea invited her to her home one day to study together. After that, Felicity spent almost every afternoon in the Queen household but always returned home before Dinner, so her mother wouldn’t get suspicious. After almost 2 years though, Felicity and Thea had to part ways when Felicity's family once again moved across the country. There had been a lot of tears and a mobile phone that Thea stuffed into Felicity’s jacket when she came over to say good-bye.  
“I have my number saved so we can talk whenever we want to!” Thea told her when she hugged her friend for the last time.

 

Thea often sent her pics of herself and the horses or short texts about stuff that happened and Felicity always smiled and eagerly replied, telling her where she was living at that moment or what happened at school. She always had to hide the phone from her family members, though. Her stepmother didn’t allow any technology, at least not for Felicity. Her brothers Sam and Max both had a phone and Sam also owned a Tablet that he got as a gift last Christmas, but all Felicity was allowed to use was the landline if she wanted to make a call. So the phone that Thea had given her always had a safe place inside her school bag. Felicity never used it at home and always kept it shut off for the time she was at home.

 

So while she lay on her bed, crouched together like a ball, silently sobbing into her pillow, she thought about running away again. This time though, the thought became more appealing than it had ever been before.

After wiping the tears from her cheeks with her sleeve, Felicity got up from the bed and slowly walked to the door on tip toes. She pressed her ear against the door and tried to make out any sounds. Her stepmother was talking loudly to someone, probably her stepfather. Glancing down at her watch, she realized they must be sitting over Dinner – when suddenly her stomach made a loud growl. She hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast and after being dragged up into her room by her stepmother she probably wouldn’t get anything to eat that day any more either. Felicity quickly checked her school bag for a granola bar when she saw the phone at the bottom of her bag. She looked around, trying to make out any sounds coming up the stairs and slowly pulled it out of the bag. She wiped over the screen a few times, contemplating whether she should turn it on or not. When she heard footsteps coming upstairs, Felicity quickly threw it back into her bag and jumped onto her bed, pretending to be asleep. The door unlocked and opened slowly with a squeak and Felicity could hear heavy footsteps nearing her.

“Wake up!” a rough hand suddenly shook her shoulder and Felicity jerked back at the contact, staring at her stepfather in surprise.  
“What did your mother just tell me about you?” he yelled at her. His breath smelled like bacon and cigarettes. “You are messing around in the neighborhood and are being disrespectful to your mother?” His voice became even louder now and Felicity tried to slide deeper into the mattress, away from his evil glare, his smell and his yelling.

“I –“

“Don’t you dare being disrespectful to us! We are the one that picked you up from that goddamn Orphanage! Your mother and I gave you a home, a bed, a warm meal every day. Don’t you think we deserve at least some respect?”  
Felicity just flinched at every word he spoke while she tried to make herself as small as possible on the already tiny bed.  
“You won’t be leaving this room until your mother and I heard an apology from you! I’ll call your school tomorrow and let them know you won’t return there for the rest of the week – for now.”

Felicity didn’t dare to protest. The two slaps from her mother still stung on her skin and she didn’t want to upset her stepfather more than he already was, so she said nothing.  
“Oh, and I think it hardly needs mentioning that you won’t celebrate Sam’s birthday tomorrow with us.” her stepfather half smirked at her before he stormed out of the door and locked it behind him again.

 

Felicity immediately started crying again as soon as the door had been closed, this time the tears of despair and pain mixed with tears of anger. Her family had been nothing but disrespectful to her all these years, never respecting her wishes or acknowledging accomplishments that she made. All her mother always did was shrug a shoulder when Felicity came home and excitedly showed her her A – grades or awarded science projects. And now her father accused her of being disrespectful towards the people that called her a daughter but never treated her like one. She was furious.

With anger and a half eaten granola bar in her stomach, Felicity drifted off to sleep. She couldn’t wait for that day to be over with.

 

The next morning Felicity awoke to an almost silent house. The only sounds coming from the kitchen let her know her mother was down there, probably making breakfast for Sam and Max.  
She was surprised to find her room door unlocked and quickly padded to the bathroom. When she heard her brothers leave to school for the day, Felicity went back to her room. Her stepmother would be off for work soon, too, that left her alone with her stepfather.

 

Felicity had a plan. And for that, she needed a few things and as few people in the house as possible. She waited until she heard the car leave the parking spot and dressed in a casual sweatpants and shirt before she slowly made her way downstairs. Halfway down, she peeked into the living room, seeing her father watch another game on the TV. She took another tentative step and took a deep breath before she spoke.

“Daddy?” Felicity hated calling him that and she actually hadn’t done it since she turned 8, but right now, it had to do.

“What do you want?” came a grumbly voice from the armchair.

“I’m hungry.” Felicity tried to sound as sweet and innocent as she could.

“Help yourself.” he grumbled again, never looking away from the TV screen.

Without another word, Felicity stepped down the stairs and into the kitchen, always keeping a close eye on the living room. She quickly opened several drawers and pulled out bread, peanut butter and apples. After she made herself a sandwich (her stomach still grumbled like crazy after going to bed with just half a granola bar), she opened the drawer underneath the fridge and pulled out a bag. She made a few more peanut butter sandwiches and wrapped them in paper before she threw them into the bag, along with 3 apples and several granola bars and 2 bottles of water. Very quietly, she tip-toed out of the kitchen and was about to head upstairs again, when she saw her stepfather’s wallet on the desk in the hallway. She thought about it for a moment, and after glancing into the living room once more she quickly grabbed it and pulled a 50$ note out before she put it back in place. Stuffing the money into her bra, she silently went upstairs and threw the bag of food under her bed, hiding it there for the moment.

 

Sam and Max were the first to arrive back home. Sam hat been ecstatic all day for his birthday trip to the Adventure Park and as soon as her stepmother arrived back home from work, everyone got ready to leave. Felicity didn’t dare to leave her room though. Her stepfather had already announced she wouldn’t be allowed to join them, so she didn’t bother putting on decent clothes or getting herself ready to leave. When her stepmother entered her room, Felicity looked up from the book she was occupying herself with.  
“We will head to the Park now. We shouldn’t be home later than 8. Help yourself with Dinner, we will be eating out.”

With that, her stepmother was about to leave the room, before she abruptly stopped and turned around again. “Oh and for good measure… we’ll lock the front door, don’t make the mistake to leave the house.”

 

Felicity just wordlessly stared at her until the door closed again. As soon as she heard the front door close and the family car being started, Felicity jumped off the bed and ran to the window. When she saw the car leave the junction, she quickly got dressed and ran downstairs to the basement, trying to find one of her suitcases. It took her a good 10 minute search, but when she finally got ahold of her bright purple duffel bag, she made a small fist pump and quickly sprinted upstairs again. She packed some of her clothes and a warm jacket, the food bag from under her bed, her toothbrush, a map, a flashlight and a blanket.

As soon as she got everything packed, Felicity put on her running shoes and a windbreaker jacket and made her way downstairs. Her stepmother in fact had locked the front door, so Felicity had to take the side exit through the back yard.

 

She didn’t even care to look back for one second; the only thing she’d miss would be the clothes she couldn’t take with her and her Tech books.

 

Before she stepped outside, she thought about her next steps for a moment. It was still broad daylight and she didn’t want to risk being seen by any of her neighbors. Plus, she wanted to gain as much ground as possible so her parents or possibly the Police wouldn’t find her. Travelling by train would be too expensive for her and the risk of being seen at the train station was too high, as well. So walking it would be.

Felicity quickly made her way through the back yard, hopped over the fence and took the small path that led through the woods and to the other side of their district.  
After walking for a few miles, the bag started to weigh heavy on her back and Felicity realized that walking wouldn’t get her far enough in a short amount of time.  
She quickly looked around the Block when something caught her eye. She did the first thing that came to her mind at that moment – she stole one of the bicycles she spotted leaning next to a garage.

Quickly leaving the Block, Felicity proceeded her way out of the City, deeper into the landscape surrounding the outer areas of Detroit.

 

The sun was setting already when Felicity realized she must have been driving for 3 hours straight, deep in thoughts about everything her step-parents had yelled at her the night before. Had she known all this sooner, she would have run away from them years ago already.

The wind started to pick up and she could see dark clouds forming over her, so Felicity decided it would be good to find a place to sleep for the night. After driving around for a few miles, looking for an abandoned house or place to stay, Felicity had to realize that finding a safe sleeping spot for the night wouldn’t be as easy as she thought.

Checking into a Motel wouldn’t be an option, though. A 15-year old girl traveling alone would cause too much attention and Felicity didn’t want to risk being caught so easily. There wouldn’t be another chance to run away if that attempt failed, so she made sure she kept under the radar as much as possible. Which eliminated pretty much every option of a Hotel or Motel to spend the night at.  
“I should just have brought a tent.” Felicity mumbled to herself when she spotted an old barn across the street. She quickly cycled over there to check out the area. The pastures were empty of animals and the barn seemed to be un-used for quite a while. Just when she opened the large door and stepped inside, a loud thunder erupted and the first heavy raindrops fell to the ground.  
Felicity quickly got inside and pulled out her flashlight. Once she had inspected the barn and made sure she was alone in there, except for large amounts of litter and hay, Felicity picked a corner and build her sleeping spot for the night. Safely surrounded and hidden from prying eyes by stacks of hay and the walls of the barn, Felicity slumped down onto her blanket and let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding the entire afternoon.

She pulled out her map and quickly checked her location. A few miles ago she saw the City limit sign of Ann Arbor, so she guessed she must have driven almost 40 miles today. Her legs didn’t hurt though, so she planned to get at least another 40 miles done the next day, hopefully more. She still had a long way to go.  
Thinking about her destination, Felicity searched around in her bag and pulled out her phone. The entire day she was so lost in thought that she completely forgot to check her phone. She powered it on and quickly scrolled through her contacts. It was already after 9pm, but she was sure she would get a reply soon.

 

After contemplating whether she should call or send a text, Felicity decided to go for the safe route and send a text message. She wasn’t sure if she would have been able not to babble over the phone.  
_‘Hey Thea! How are u doing? Miss u! xx’_

The reply came almost instantly and Felicity had to smile when the phone vibrated in her lap.  
_‘Lissy OMG it’s so cool to hear from you! Miss you too. What are you up to?’_

Felicity contemplated at what to reply to that.  
“Oh you know, I ran away from home and would need shelter at your place until I’m old enough to get my own, but it might take me a week to arrive as I’m travelling by bike – if I don’t get robbed or abducted until then.” didn’t seem like the best answer for the moment, so she opted for something more casual.  
_‘Having trouble with the so-called fam again. I just hate them :( can’t wait till I’m old enough to have my own place‘_

 _‘I wish you’d have never moved away. Miss having you around here all day. Castiel misses u too. I feed him an apple every day though’_  
Thea replied and Felicity couldn’t hold back a smile at the thought of her and Thea running around the Mansion to steal some apples for the horses. She missed Castiel, too, even though he wasn’t her horse. Thea told her she could ride him whenever she wanted and since no one else could handle the stallion’s temper except for Felicity, she was the only one taking care of him that time.

 

The rain had started to pick up and pattered heavily on the wooden roof of the barn, thunders erupting every few minutes. Even though Felicity was surrounded by tons of hay and litter and had tucked herself under the blanket, she was still freezing slightly.  
And still she regretted nothing. Her step-parents probably were looking for her at that moment, driving around the street, talking to the police and whatnot. But all Felicity cared for was getting to the West Coast as quick as possible. Before she pulled out one of her granola bars, she sent Thea another quick text.  
_‘Gotta go now. Talk tomorrow? xo’_

The reply once again came instantly.  
_‘Sure sis. I’ll text as soon as I’m off school. Love you xx’_

Felicity smiled at that, shut off her phone and stuffed it into the bag again before she pulled the blanket further up her body, nibbled on the granola bar and studied the map once more. The flashlight didn’t give away much light, but enough for Felicity to mark the next destination on her trip. The first big step would be getting out of Michigan so she wouldn’t be caught by the Police if they’d really start looking for her.

The next morning Felicity was awoken by the sound of birds chirping. She quickly checked her watch and realized it was a little after 8 in the morning. After struggling to fall asleep because of the heavy rain and thunder that night, Felicity was happy to have gotten at least 6 hours of sleep that night. She quickly got up, changed into fresh clothes, packed her stuff, had a quick breakfast and squatted down behind the barn before she climbed her bike again and headed for the main road. There was a good distance to kill today, so she was sure she didn’t waste any time.


	2. Chapter 2

Thinking about Thea and their time at the Mansion together, Felicity passed several small towns and Cities, never paying too much attention to her surroundings. She wouldn’t be staying in the City anyway, so she could focus on gaining as much ground as possible. This wasn’t a sightseeing tour after all, anyway. When the smell of fresh brawn coffee hit her nose, Felicity hummed slightly at the smell. Down the street she spotted a small Diner, but after thinking about it for a moment, she reluctantly decided against it and resumed her tour to get out of the City. She was still too close to Detroit to sit down and have a relaxed Coffee at some Diner.

 

In the afternoon, Felicity decided to make a stop at a bench and rest for a moment. Her legs slowly started to hurt and her stomach grumbled loudly as well. She pulled out a Peanut butter Sandwich and studied her map once more to make sure she was still on the right track. After checking her watch, she realized Thea must be home by now, too, so she powered up her phone and waited for a text from her. And Felicity didn’t have to wait long.

Thea didn’t send a text though. She called.  
Felicity froze for a moment but accepted the call with a smile.  
“Lissy!” Thea squealed through the phone before Felicity could even say Hello.

“Hey, Thea.” Felicity laughed, shaking her head slightly in amusement.

“How are you? It’s so cool to hear your voice! Been too long since we had the chance to talk. Are your parents still so crazy to you?” Thea excitedly squealed into the phone but Felicity froze at the last question.

“They aren’t my parents, Thea.” she replied with a serious tone. “And I don’t care what they do. Not any more.” Her tone got more silent at the end of the sentence.

Thea immediately got suspicious. It wasn’t Felicity to sound so cold, not even towards her step-parents.  
“Okay, what happened?”

Felicity took a deep breath before she spoke again.  
“Too much to tell over the phone. But my stepmother tried to forbid me to date a guy that she didn’t pick out for me. Oh and then she basically told me she expected me to produce a heir for her family with a guy of her choosing.”

Thea snorted ironically at that.  
“That bitch! I know why I never liked her.”

“So I ran away.” Felicity suddenly mumbled and for a moment, Thea wasn’t sure she heard her correctly.

“I’m sorry, what was that?

“I ran away. And don’t try to convince me to go back, Thea, because to hell I will. I’d rather live under a bridge than going back to that family again!” Felicity warned her but Thea was quick to cut her off.

“Hey cool down sis, I’d never suggest anything like that. But where are you now? Where do you want to go? And how do you travel? Please tell me you’re not hitchhiking!” Thea suddenly sounded worried for her friend.

“I’m not hitchhiking, Thea. I have a bike and right now I’m around 70 miles west of Detroit, I believe.”  
Felicity deliberately ignored the question about where she was going, still not able to ask Thea if she could stay with her, at least for a while until she figured out a different place to stay until she was old enough. And even though Felicity knew she couldn’t hide the question from her friend forever, especially given the fact that she was already traveling Thea’s way, she decided to start that topic at a later time, probably the next day.

“But where do you stay the night? There are so many mean people out there, I’d shit myself if I had to spend one night outside…” Thea asked her and Felicity actually had to laugh out loud at that.

“Last night I found an abandoned barn and slept in the hay, we’ll see if I can find something similar this night.” Felicity replied while she checked the sky for any sign of weather change. It was still bright and sunny out there, not a trace of dark clouds.

“Yeah but still… where are you going? I mean, it’s not that you can travel through the Country on your own forever. And don’t think I would let you, Lady! It’s way too dangerous out there! I’d rather take you here with me than knowing you out on the street!” Thea warned her and Felicity’s heart made a small jump at that.  
When she didn’t reply for a few moments, Thea cleared her throat and spoke again.  
“So?”

Well, now it was all or nothing, Felicity thought to herself.  
“I, uh… actually I was hoping I could crash at your place for a few days?” Felicity asked her very tentatively, hoping not to overstep any boundaries with that. They hadn’t seen each other for almost 4 months and Felicity had no idea if Thea really meant it when she said “You can always crash at my place when you want to come back!” when Felicity moved away.

Thea’s squeals and giggles were answer enough to Felicity, though.  
“Oooooh yes yes yes Lissy! That will be soooooo awesome! We need to make plans,” she suddenly announced. “You can’t very well travel all that distance by bike. It’d take you several weeks to arrive here and I don’t even want to imagine all the dangers –“

“I’ll be fine, Thea.” Felicity tried to calm her but she knew her friend was right. It was crazy thinking a 15-year old girl could travel across the country with nothing than a stolen bike and 50$ in her pocket. But it was Felicity’s only chance at getting away from her family as quickly as possible, and she could finally decide on her own where to go and what to do with only her duffel bag and her bike, so she decided to stick with it for now.

“Do you have any food or any money?” Thea suddenly spoke up again.

“I have uh…” Felicity quickly checked the contents of her food bag, “3 apples, 2 peanut butter Sandwiches and some granola bars and 55$ cash.”

There was some rustling heard over the phone and Felicity wondered that Thea was doing.  
“Okay, okay… let me think… where are you now?”

“Just passed Jackson, Michigan. I wanted to kill another 20 miles and then look for a place to stay. It’s sunny out here right now; guess I’ll use the good weather as long as possible.” Felicity half shrugged when she could hear Thea moving around her room with the phone in hand.

“Okay, uhm… can you call me again in 2 hours?”

“Let’s make it 3. I want to find a place to stay before it gets dark.”

“Alright, take care of yourself sis. Talk to you later!” Thea quickly added while running around in her room before she ended the call.

Felicity stared at the phone for a few moments, before she shook her head in wonder, smiling at the giggly attitude her friend had all the time. She shut down the phone, trying to save as much of the battery as she could, stuffed it into her bag again and climbed her bike. There wasn’t any time for loafing around now; she still had hundreds of miles to kill.

 

When the sun started to set and the wind became a lot cooler than it had been through the day, Felicity decided to find another place to stay for the night. Since she arrived in a more rural town a few minutes ago, she tried to find another empty or abandoned barn.

After looking around for almost 1 hour, she spotted a horse stable situated in the middle of a pasture with a good distance to the Farm house. Since it was late summer and the horses were staying in the pasture all day and night, Felicity was sure she wouldn’t get caught if she woke up early enough to leave. She quickly got off her bike, climbed the fences and made her way inside the stable. Finding the main door locked, Felicity entered the barn through one of the horse stalls. She spotted a ladder leading upstairs to the hay storage and decided to spend the night there instead of one of the empty horse stalls downstairs. Getting her bike up there turned out to be a mission impossible though, so she hid it in one of the empty stalls before she climbed upstairs and quickly built up her small sleeping space.  
As soon as she settled into the blanket, she powered up her phone and waited for Thea to call her.

It didn’t take long until the phone started vibrating and Felicity immediately answered the call with a smile.  
“Hey sis, where are you right now?”

“Found a horse stable where I can spend the night in. I just need to make sure I leave early enough, I don’t know if someone might come and check on the horses.” Felicity replied in a low voice, always keeping an ear to the surroundings. Since it was almost completely dark outside, she didn’t turn on the flashlight so she wouldn’t alert the Farm owners.

“I have a plan!” Thea suddenly announced.

Felicity furrowed her brows in confusion. “What plan?”

“You have 55$ right? Where exactly are you right now?”

“Uh, I don’t know exactly… I’m pretty sure I’m close to Battle Creek. Why?”

“Because tomorrow morning, you’ll go find a Diner, have a good breakfast and make sure to purchase some more food for the trip. I’ll book you a bus ticket to get you here.”

Felicity shot up in surprise at Thea’s statement.  
“I can’t do that, Thea! YOU can’t do that, Thea! I don’t want to risk being seen anywhere and you certainly can’t book a bus ticket online for me!”

“Ollie will help me!” Thea suddenly spoke up and Felicity could hear her bounce around on the bed.

“What – did you tell him?”

“Not yet.” she giggled and Felicity got nervous at that thought. The more people knew about her escape and especially where she was running to, the more people could try and bring her back home again.

“Thea, I can’t – “

“You can, and I will! End of discussion.” Thea firmly spoke up. “Don’t think for one second I let one of my best friends sit alone out there, traveling the country by bike, running away from her creepy family! We are getting you here as quickly as possible, and then we can figure out the rest.” Thea firmly spoke up and Felicity could only sigh at that.

“Alright. I really need to get some sleep now, though. When can you call tomorrow?” Felicity asked her before she let out a yawn.

“As soon as I’m awake. I just see if I can catch Ollie before he’s heading out again, I don’t think I can wake him up from his usual ‘Friday evening hangover’ tomorrow morning. Call you around 10?”

“Sounds good. Bye, Thea!”

“Take care of yourself, talk to you tomorrow!” Thea announced and quickly ended the call.

 

Felicity shut off the phone, stuffed it in her bag and put her head on it as a pillow. The blanket firmly thrown over her body, she quickly fell asleep.

 

As soon as Thea ended the call, she jumped off the bed and ran out of her room. She could still see light coming from Oliver’s room, so she gently knocked before she stormed inside and plopped herself onto his bed.  
“Ollie?”

“What do you want, Speedy? I’m heading out with Tommy any minute.” came the reply from the en suite bathroom.

“Only because you’re old enough to drink legally since last month doesn’t mean you have to do it every weekend.” Thea smirked at her brother when he left the bathroom and watched his sister sitting on his bed. “I need your help.”

“Of course you do, Speedy.” he laughed at her. “What is it?”

“I need you to buy me a bus ticket.” Thea grinned at him.

Oliver’s eyebrows shot up at that. “To what? Disneyland? Ask Mom or Dad, I’m sure they can help you out.”

Thea just quirked an eyebrow at him. “Ha ha, very funny. I can’t ask them, it’s not… it’s not for me.” she half mumbled and Oliver suddenly started paying more attention to the conversation than he had in the beginning.

“Then who is it for? And why can’t that person buy a ticket herself?”

Thea nervously fidgeted with the throw blanket of his bed, looking into her lap. Felicity told her not to tell him but they needed Oliver’s help, so she needed to tell him.  
“It’s for Felicity, okay? She ran away from home and now she’s traveling the country with nothing but a bike and 50 bucks and spends the nights alone out there in god knows what for creepy buildings! I want to take her here, so I need to send her a bus ticket but I can’t do that since Mom confiscated my Credit Card!” she half rambled and Oliver had to listen very closely to get everything that his sister was telling him.

Oliver raised his hand and stopped Thea’s ramble. “Wait a minute… Felicity ran away from home and now you want to buy her a ticket and get her here? What for, Speedy? I’m sure her parents are freaking out already! She needs to be send home, and not to you!” Oliver told her and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

“Her step-parents are abusive assholes! I’m actually surprised she didn’t run away sooner! And if you’re not going to help me I’m going to tell Mom you crashed the Gambit a few months ago and paid the repair costs with one of the Company’s Credit Cards.” Thea smirked at him and leaned back on his bed with an evil grin.

Oliver’s eyes went wide for a moment. He was surprised his sister even knew about that, but decided not to discuss that any further. Hiding the accident and the repair costs from his parents had been enough struggle for a year to him.  
“You know this is crazy, right? She’s 15 years old! You can’t keep her here like a pet, hiding her in your room!”

“I know, but for now I just want her off the streets, Ollie.” Thea’s face fell while she spoke. “I’m really worried about her. She’s out there alone, what if something happens or she gets robbed?”

Oliver thought about that for a moment, rubbing his forehead.  
“Alright, I’ll help you. But we’ll talk about this tomorrow. Not now. Tommy is probably waiting for me already.”

“Thank you.” Thea smiled and made her way out of the room, followed by Oliver.

 

Back at her own room, she decided to send Felicity a quick text to let her know Oliver would be helping them and then quickly went to bed as well. The sooner the night was over, the sooner she could get Felicity off the road and to Starling City.

 

The next morning Felicity awoke to the sounds of horses in the stables under her. When she peeked her head down, she could see a young girl feeding the horses before she made her way out of the barn again. Felicity froze on the spot. Had the girl seen her or her bike? Probably not, since she was so relaxed and calm feeding the horses. Not risking to get caught, Felicity quickly stuffed all her belongings into the bag and quickly climbed the stairs. Her bike was still in the spot where she put it the night before, only the main gate was unlocked now. Thinking about it for a moment, Felicity decided to leave through the horse stall that she entered the barn last night. When no one called after her, she quickly hopped the fence and left the area. After cycling at a maddening pace for at least 15 minutes, she found a bench and took a quick stop to rest. Her hair was still fussed and full of hay, her bag was a mess, she needed to change her clothes and her stomach growled loudly. That wasn’t how she imagined a nice morning, most definitely not at 7am.

Hiding behind a pair of rocks, Felicity quickly changed into fresh clothes, ate her remaining two peanut butter Sandwiches and put her brown locks into a ponytail.

She still had a few miles to kill until she’d arrive in Battle Creek and there she decided to take on Thea’s suggestion and sit down at a Diner for a little while. It had been too long without a coffee for her anyway, especially considering her current sleeping situation.

When she arrived in Battle Creek, she tried to pick the smallest and most inconspicuous looking Diner she could find, away from the Main roads. She ordered a large Coffee and Bacon and Eggs and waited for Thea’s call. The local News didn’t flash any picture of her, so she was glad there wasn’t any nation-wide search going on for her yet. She slid closer into the booth and nibbled on her bacon when her phone started vibrating in her bag.

Felicity quickly accepted the call.  
“Good morning Lissy. Are you fine? How have you slept?” Thea immediately blurted out.

“Sleeping was okay, but I had to leave rather quickly. There was a kid feeding the horses. I’m just glad she didn’t see my bike.” Felicity mumbled into the phone, always keeping a close eye on her surroundings. But since the Diner was almost empty except for some Biker sitting at the Counter and a young couple occupying a booth on the other side of the room, Felicity relaxed a bit.

“I’m with Ollie right now. We’re going to book you a ticket now so you can come here.”

“Thea you really don’t have to – “ Felicity tried to stop her once again, still feeling very uncomfortable knowing she would have to travel through the entire country by bus, risking to be seen at almost every large Station.

“We’re past this discussion, Lissy. I’m putting you on speaker so Ollie can hear you, too.” Thea announced and Felicity could hear a slight rustling through the phone.

“Hey, Felicity,” Oliver’s voice suddenly came up and Felicity stopped breathing for a moment. Thea’s brother was like her major crush in High School, ever since she saw him at the Mansion for the first time. They rarely spoke and Felicity just rarely saw him at the Mansion, but every time she did, her stomach fluttered and she had to hide her blushes as good as possible.

“Hey, Oliver.” was the only thing she could half choke out before she had to take a large gulp of the coffee.

“Okay, first of all, I think this is a stupid idea but since my lovely sister had some very… ‘convincing’ arguments, I’m willing to help,” he half grumbled and Felicity could hear Thea giggle in the background. “But to book you a Greyhound Ticket I need to know some information about you.”

Felicity could hear fingers typing and waited for Oliver to speak again.  
“Where are you right now?”

“I’m sitting at a Diner in Battle Creek, Michigan.”

“Okay… I can get you a straight connection from there to Starling City, departing in 4 hours. That way you would only have to change busses twice, since Thea told me you wanted to stay under the radar as much as possible.”

“Yes.” Felicity just agreed.

“Alright, let’s book that for you then. Your full name?” Oliver answered and Felicity could hear him typing again.

“Oh uhm… can’t we just put any name down instead of mine? Just in case my parents or the Police check the Data…” Felicity interjected.

Oliver thought about that for a moment. “You’re right… okay, what name then?”

“What about your mother’s last name, Lissy? Felicity Smoak! Sounds fierce!” Thea suddenly piped in from the background.

Felicity thought about that for a moment. Ever since she got adopted, she had been named Felicity Waller, no longer allowed to carry the name of her parents. But when the thoughts of running away came up to her mind for the first time, so came the wish to carry her family’s last name again.  
“Yeah, that should work.”

“I can’t believe I’m doing this…” Oliver mumbled while typing.

“Oliver you don’t need to –“ Felicity replied, but Oliver quickly cut her off.

“Thea is right. It’s too dangerous out there for a 15-year old girl. But as soon as you’re here, we are going to have a conversation about this. And don’t think Thea can blackmail me forever to help you guys!” Oliver replied sternly and Felicity could hear that not only spoke to her but to Thea as well.

“I know…” Felicity mumbled reluctantly, followed by a long silence. The waitress came over and offered a refill of her coffee which Felicity gladly accepted.

“Okay, so Felicity Smoak it is. Your birthday?” Oliver asked while typing on the laptop.

“August 5th, 1997” she answered, suddenly embarrassed to tell Oliver exactly how young she was.

“Oh hey, it’s your birthday next month!” Thea squealed from the background but Felicity just nodded silently at that.

“Okay, I got everything booked. Thea will send you the ticket information to your phone in a minute. The bus leaves in 4 hours from Battle Creek Main Station, Bus Lane 3. Don’t be late, I won’t do this again!” he warned the girls before he shooed Thea out of the room again.

 

“I’m really thankful that Oliver and you are doing this for me, Thea. I really don’t know how to thank you –“

“It’s okay, Lissy. The most important thing right now is getting you here safely. And in a little over a day you’ll arrive in Starling City.” Thea assured her

“I really need a shower.” Felicity mumbled into the phone after staring at her reflection in the window of the Diner.

“I’m sure you’ll manage for another few days, Lissy. You’ve practically been living on the street for 3 days; everyone would look like a mess by now.” Thea laughed.

 

The girls talked for a little longer until Felicity decided to make her way to the Main Station. Thea had sent her the Ticket information just when they ended the call and Felicity took the time to clean herself up a little in the ladies room of the Diner before she headed out. When she spotted a small Tech store, Felicity quickly checked her watch and realized she still had a little less than an hour until the bus would leave, so she went inside. 10 minutes later and 25$ poorer, she carried 2 brand new Tech books with her. She was in need of lecture for the trip anyway, and since she had to leave behind all of her beloved books, she didn’t think too long when it came to spending the amount on these two books.

As soon as she entered the bus and took her seat, Felicity felt herself relax a little. No one sent her a suspicious look and the online ticket Thea had sent her worked just fine. She still had some leftover granola bars and the apples as well as a bottle of water, so she didn’t have to check the Shop at the Main Station before the Bus started its tour.

There hadn’t been many people on it, traveling with her, which Felicity was grateful for. According to the ticket information, she still had almost 70 hours on the bus ahead of her, so she soon started to hide her nose in the books she got for herself.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity on the road to Starling City

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the Kudos and Comments on the last Chapter! I'm surprised the Story receives so much positive feedback already. :)
> 
> Also a ton of thanks for pointing out the travel distance between Detroit and Starling City (which is located in WA in my Story, near Seattle). Since it's obviously impossible to travel that distance in just 15 hours by bus, I corrected that. :)

Hours later, Felicity awoke to a bump that caused her to jerk up the seat and look around in panic. When she realized she must have fallen asleep with her face hidden behind the book, she quickly set it aside and got up from her seat.  
“Excuse me Sir, where are we right now?” she asked the driver.

“Nearing Fargo, North Dakota, Miss” the older man calmly replied, never looking away from the road.

Felicity thought about that for a moment. Nearing North Dakota meant they had been on the road for at least 15 hours already, and apparently she had slept though a large amount of that.  
“When will the next stop be?”

“In Fargo, Miss. You’ll have an hour there to change busses before leaving for Montana.” the driver replied and gave her a quick smile before he faced the road again.

“I know this might sound weird, but will there be a chance to shower at the Bus Station? I still have a lot of time to kill on this Trip and I don’t want to scare away any passengers with my crazy smell.” she mumbled and the driver had to laugh slightly.

“Your ticket validates you to use the travel restrooms at the Bus Station. That includes the shower. Just make sure to watch the departure time. You don’t want to be late, dear.” he smiled at her.

Felicity thanked him with a smile and quickly made her way back to her seat, checked her watch and realized it was almost 11am. So calling Thea wouldn’t be an option since she was still at School. But at least she got the chance to have a shower after 3 days of only baby-wiping her body.

After looking out of the window watching trees fields fly by for a few minutes, she decided to sleep a little more. The last night had been rough, especially after having to take flight so early and so quickly. When she pulled her Hoodie over her head and closed her eyes, sleep came almost immediately.

 

\----------------------------

 

“Ollie!” Thea squealed when she entered Oliver’s room and jumped onto the mattress next to where he was lying.

Oliver just groaned and hid his face under the pillow.  
“What do you want, Speedy? Go waste someone else’s time, it's still the middle of the night and I’m still asleep.”

“Felicity will be here in two hours. We need to go pick her up from the bus station.”  
Thea announced and Oliver lifted the pillow off his head at that.  
“We? As in, you and me?” he asked her incredulously.

“Sure, or will you let me drive your Porsche?” Thea grinned at him and waggled her eyebrows.

“Yeah nope.” he groaned and put the pillow over his face again.

Thea clapped her hands together. “Alright, then get up and get ready, we don’t want to leave her waiting.” she announced and hopped off the bed.

“You do know that my car only has 2 seats, right?” Oliver suddenly spoke up under his pillow.

Thea stopped at that and spun around to face him again. She thought about that for a second before she spoke up again.  
“Alright, then you’ll pick her up and I’ll prepare everything for her arrival. She must be starving.” Thea smiled and Oliver was wondering how his little sister could already have so much energy on a Sunday morning.

After a few moments, he sat up in his bed, fully facing Thea for the first time since she stormed into his room.  
“All joking aside, Speedy… what’s your plan as soon as I picked her up from the bus station? You can’t hide her in your room forever. Mom or Raisa will find out sooner or later and I doubt they will be as enthusiastic about Felicity running away as you are.” Oliver told her with a serious tone, a tone he just rarely used with his 15-year old sister. Most of the time they were just joking around or making fun of each other.

“I know,” Thea sighed. “For now, I just want to have her here, let her eat and sleep for a while and then we’ll figure out things with Mom and Dad, okay?”

Oliver just sighed and raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, whatever. That’s your problem to deal with, not mine. Mom and Dad are gone for the day, so we just have to look out for Raisa. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I would like to get out of bed and take a shower.”

Thea just rolled her eyes and left the room.  
As soon as she entered her own room, she tried calling Felicity but was sent straight to the Mailbox, so she sent a text message instead, letting her know Oliver would be picking her up at the Bus Station.

 

\----------------------------

 

A gentle hand on her shoulder jerked Felicity out of her sleep. When she opened her eyes and looked up in surprise, she could see the driver of the bus smiling at her.  
“We’re in Starling City, Miss. According to your Ticket that’s your destination.”  
Felicity quickly looked around and could see the Starling City Main Station she got to know so well over the years. She gave the driver a small smile, nodded her thanks, grabbed her stuff and made her way out of the bus.

As soon as she took the first step on Starling City ground, she felt relaxed. More relaxed than she felt in a long time. The bus driver quickly pulled her bike out of the storage room and handed it to her with a smile before he made his way into the bus again.  
Felicity looked around for a moment, unsure on what to do next. She knew where the Queen Mansion was and driving there shouldn’t take longer than an hour, but was Thea at home? Should she just drive up there and ask the bellman to call Thea over to the main gate? Maybe the bellman remembered her face and would let her in?

 

Thinking about her next steps, Felicity took a seat at a bench and pulled out her phone. Just when she powered it up, a car came to a halt in front of her. Felicity looked up and froze in shock.  
Oliver Queen smiled at her, sitting in his white Porsche convertible, dressed in a leather jacket, wearing sunglasses that made him look even more sexy than she remembered him.

“Felicity,” he suddenly spoke up when he got out of the car and rounded it to stand in front of her. God, has he always been that hot? And the way he smelled… which made her think she must have been smelling terrible after almost 2 days on that bus. And her hair probably looked like a birds nest. She quickly pulled the hood over her head and Oliver shot her a confused look.

Trying not to stare at him for too long, she gave him a quick smile and looked up.  
“Did Thea send you?”

“You could say that,” Oliver replied with a smile and Felicity suddenly realized she never had a decent conversation with Oliver before. All the times she spent at the Queen Mansion she only caught glances at Oliver or sent him a quick ‘Hi’ or ‘Bye’ when they met in the Foyer.  
“She figured letting you walk over to our House wasn’t the best idea.”

“Oh that would have been okay, I’ve got a bike.” Felicity quickly told him, motioning to the bicycle resting next to the bench.

Oliver quickly looked over to the black bike sitting next to her and turned around to eye the trunk of his car for a moment.  
“There’s no way we can fit this thing into my car –“

“Oh it’s okay,” Felicity shrugged, getting up from the bench, grabbing her duffel bag, “we’ll just leave it here, it’s stolen anyway.” she winked at him and Oliver’s eyebrows shot up for a moment at that. When she felt him staring at her for several long moments, frozen on the spot, Felicity looked up at him again. “What?”

“Oh, nothing… I just never knew you were so… fierce.” Oliver quickly shook his head and took the bag from her shoulder to put it in the trunk. “God, this thing is heavy. Did you carry that all the time? What’s in there? Stones?” he asked her when he put the bag in the trunk and closed it.  
“Just everything I own.” Felicity silently replied with a frown, bowing her head, trying to hide it behind her Hoodie.

When Oliver motioned for her to get into the car, she quickly opened the passenger door and took a seat next to him. She had never sat in such a luxurious car before and immediately worried she might leave stains on the bright white seats with her pretty dirty clothes. When Oliver saw her shift uncomfortably in her seat, he shot her a look before starting the engine.  
“Everything all right? You don’t need to puke or something, right?”

“I don’t want to ruin your seats.” Felicity mumbled and Oliver actually had to listen very closely to understand what she was saying.

He had to laugh at that. “Believe me; leaving stains on my seats is your least problem right now.”

At his statement, Felicity’s head shot up in panic. Not knowing what he could have meant, she felt fear slowly creeping up her body. Was he going to take her to the Adoption Center instead of the Queen Mansion? She didn’t know Oliver too well after all – she couldn’t know if he really wanted to help. Ready to flee the car again, she was already unbuckling her seatbelt, when Oliver realized he must have scared her with what he said.  
“Hey,” he gently put a hand over her arm to stop her from fleeing his car. “Everything’s alright. I didn’t mean to scare you. What do you think, should we drive to the Mansion so you and Thea can finally see each other again? How long has it been since you last saw each other? 2 months?”

“4.” Felicity mumbled and let go of the seatbelt. She quickly looked over to Oliver but couldn’t see his expression behind his sunglasses, so she faced her lap again instead.

Oliver let go of her arm and started the engine, quickly heading away from the Bus Station and away from the heart of the City. Felicity kept looking out of the window, enjoying seeing familiar buildings and landscape pass them by while Oliver drove her to the Mansion. She missed living in Starling City, the concrete jungle of Detroit messing with her mood too much. It was never quiet there, never smelled like wood and fresh cut grass, things she got to love while living in Starling City.  
“So, why did you run away?” Oliver’s voice cut her out of her thoughts, making her head snap around, facing him. The wind had blown the Hoodie off her head and was messing with her curls. She didn’t bother taming the strands, for she knew it wouldn’t help.

“My stepmother tried to tell me who I was allowed to date and basically wanted to force me to marry a guy of her choosing so I could produce ‘appropriate babies’ to the family and make her a grandmother.” Felicity casually told him with a shrug and Oliver’s head shot around at that. She could see his shocked expression, even though his sunglasses hid most of his eyes. When she saw him staring at her, she looked up to directly face him for the first time. “And that’s just the very short version of my pretty messed up life.” she frowned.  
Felicity gave him a sad smile and for the first time, Oliver could see how tired and sad she actually looked. Much older than a 15-year old girl should look like. She had bags under her eyes and her skin was pale. Her eyes were red and for a moment, he wondered if she had been crying. He didn’t know what to reply though, so he kept his mouth shut and steered the car through the streets.

Felicity was thankful for him being quiet. She wasn’t in the mood to talk about her life or the reason why she left yet. At least not to Oliver. She had always tried to look good when she knew she would be at the Mansion and he could be there, too. And even though she knew Oliver would never recognize her like that, she had always tried to look as good and grown up as possible.

And now she sat in his car, looking messed up with her unshowered hair, her dirty fingernails and even more dirty clothes, and for the first time since they met a little over two years ago, Oliver fully looked at her. ’Awesome. What a first impression.’ she thought to herself when suddenly the private road to Queen Mansion came in sight.

 

As soon as they entered the road and neared the impressive building, Felicity looked out of the windshield for the first time. Being back there brought back good feelings to her. She didn’t know how much she missed being at the Queen household until Oliver pulled up at the side entrance and a giggling and smiling Thea jumped out of the door, running straight to Oliver’s car. Felicity barely had the time to unbuckle her seatbelt and get out of the car when Thea wrapped her arms around her and almost jumped into Felicity’s arms.  
“Lissy! Oh my god I missed you so, so much!” Thea squealed and Felicity actually had to take a step back to prevent them both from falling to the ground. As soon as she steadied herself, she firmly wrapped her arms around Thea as well.

“I missed you, too, Thea.” she mumbled into her friends’ neck.

“Sorry to interrupt the lovely reunion,” Oliver suddenly spoke up from beside them, holding Felicity’s duffel bag in one hand, “but we should get inside if we don’t want to risk Raisa seeing us.”

Both women looked at him while he spoke. “You’re right,” Thea suddenly announced, loosening her grip on Felicity and getting her feet back on the ground again. “Come on, I prepared a room for you!”  
Thea firmly gripped Felicity’s wrist and dragged her over the grounds of Queen Mansion, away from the main building.

Felicity looked around in surprise while Thea pulled her away, seeing an equally confused Oliver following them.  
“Uhm, Speedy, the Mansion is the other way…”

“Lissy won’t be staying at the Mansion, Mom or one of the housekeepers could see her too easily.” Thea announced while she dragged Felicity over the pastures at a quick pace. Felicity actually had to speed up to be able to follow Thea and not stumble to the ground. As soon as they rounded the house and the horse stable came in sight, Felicity froze for a moment, making Thea stop as well.

“Castiel,” she whispered as soon as she spotted the white stallion grazing in the pastures.

“You can visit him later, now’s not the time… come on.” Thea pulled on her wrist again, trying to get her to move. Oliver still wordlessly followed them, even though he got more and more confused as to where Thea might lead them.  
As soon as the large garden shed came in sight, it dawned upon him.  
“Thea, she can’t stay in there.”

“Why not?” Thea stopped and turned around to face her brother. “There’s a fully equipped Apartment on the upper level; it’s heated, has warm water, electricity and neither Mom nor Raisa ever come out here. And since Carlos has all his equipment with him in his car since last year, no one is using the shed any more. Plus, it’s not viewable from the Mansion. I’d say it’s perfect.” Thea beamed at him before she opened the door and stepped inside.

Oliver just shook his head and followed both women inside. He had never been in the Apartment above the shed, so he was just as surprised as Felicity was to see a fully equipped Apartment with a large living room, small kitchen, bathroom and a queen size bed in one corner. Thea spun around with a wide grin on her face when Oliver dropped the duffel bag on the ground.

 

“I already filled the fridge with some food and drinks I could find in the house but as soon as Raisa served Dinner tonight, I’ll bring you some over so you have at least a warm meal. Oh and I also left some of the old school stuff on the table for you, just in case you want to catch up a bit.” Thea winked.

Felicity gratefully smiled at that but the only thing she could care for at that moment was a hot shower and a relaxed sleep in an actual bed. Sleeping during the Bus trip had helped her to catch up some sleep, but she was far from relaxed and revitalized after sleeping in a sitting position all the time.  
“That’s… Thea, I really don’t know what to say… thank you. And thank you,” she turned around and looked at Oliver who still stood in the doorway and watched both women. “I mean… for helping me get here and picking me up from the Bus stop.” She gave him a small smile and Oliver just silently nodded at her.

When Thea was about to drag her through the Apartment to give her ‘the tour’, Oliver suddenly spoke up.  
“Speedy, I’m sure Felicity wants to freshen up and breathe for a moment. We should give her some space. Besides, I’m sure Raisa is already wondering where you’ve gone to and we don’t want to raise any suspicions, would we?”

“Right. I need to grab breakfast anyway. I was too excited to eat anything all morning.” she giggled and turned to Felicity again. “You go and shower, I’ll bring over breakfast as soon as Ollie and I have eaten. Okay?”

Felicity just nodded and watched Oliver leave the Apartment again. Thea gave her one last hug. “I’m so happy you’re here, Lissy.”

Felicity smiled warmly at that. She was happy to have a friend like Thea and even if she had any doubts about running away from her ‘family’, they were all blown out of the window right at that moment. When she watched the two Queen siblings leave the Apartment and walk over to the Mansion, for the first time Felicity fully looked around the room and took in the Apartment. Thea had decorated it with fresh cut flowers and there were candles placed on almost every flat surface. A quick look in the fridge confirmed what Thea told her. It was stuffed with various types of drinks, fruit and even some snacks. Felicity slowly made her way through the Apartment and when she found the bathroom with the small but lovely shower, she hummed slightly. Quickly shedding of her dirty clothes, Felicity grabbed a towel and hopped under the shower, letting the hot water clean and warm her skin. She wasn’t sure how long she stood under the warm spray, but when she let out a yawn, she decided to step out; towel dried herself and wrapped the towel around her body before she stepped into the living room again. Her duffel bag still sat where Oliver put it, but Felicity was too tired to grab any clothes from it at that moment. She sat down at the edge of the bed, reveling in how soft the sheets felt and plopped back onto the mattress. Before she could count to three, she had fallen asleep.

 

\----------------------------

 

Oliver and Thea had been silently sitting over breakfast while Raisa moved around the room.

“You have to engage Raisa in a conversation or something while I grab some food for Lissy, Ollie.” Thea suddenly spoke up in a quiet tone, always keeping an eye on the door to the kitchen.

“And how do you think I should do that? Talking about the weather with her for 10 minutes?” Oliver replied in an annoyed tone. “Besides, don’t expect me to help you any more with this. I agreed to book the bus ticket for her and get her here; the rest is up to you. This was your idea over all.” Oliver pointed his knife in her direction while he spoke when Raisa entered the room.

“Don’t point your knife in Miss Thea’s direction, Mister Oliver. You’re not sitting at King Arthus’ Round Table.” Raisa spoke up with a firm voice, always keeping a smile on her face though.

When she was about to remove the breakfast plates from them, the doorbell rang. She quickly walked up the front door when Thea suddenly jumped off her stool and ran into the kitchen. She quickly grabbed a plate and put some meat and cheese for Felicity, along with some grapes and two bagels. Just when she was about to leave the kitchen through the back exit, Raisa called out for her.  
“Miss Thea? There is a package for you that requires your signature.”

Thea looked around, trying to locate a spot where to hide the plate of food so Raisa wouldn’t find it. When Oliver entered the kitchen, she shoved it into his hands and quickly made her way to the front door. “Bring this to Felicity; I need to accept the package. Make sure Raisa doesn’t see you.” she quickly added with a grin before she rushed out of the kitchen.

 

Oliver stared at the plate in his hands and groaned. He had made it very clear to his sister that he didn’t want to be involved in this any more than he already was. And yet he had to be the one bringing breakfast over to their ‘secret guest’. He stared at the plate for a moment before he set it down with a shake of head.

He quickly opened the fridge and pulled out the orange juice. He also poured her a cup of coffee, for good measure. When he heard Raisa cleaning up the table in the dining room, he quickly made his way out the side exit and crossed the yard in quick steps, hoping Raisa wouldn’t see him. Once the shed came into focus and the Mansion descended behind the trees, Oliver’s pace slowed down. He made sure not to spill any coffee when he climbed the stairs to the upper level.

He tried to make out any sounds coming from inside but when he didn’t hear any, he gently knocked on the door. There wasn’t a reply, so after a few moments, he opened the door and peeked his head inside. Felicity was nowhere to be seen, but her duffel bag still stood where he placed it. He slowly stepped inside and made his way to the small kitchen to put the plate on the counter. When he was about to leave the Apartment again, he saw her.

Felicity was lying on the bed, the white towel barely covering her mid-section. She was curled up into a ball, her hair still damp, and Oliver could see the goose bumps all over her arms and legs. She was freezing. He made a few tentative steps to the bed, unsure on what to do. When she didn’t move, he gently grabbed a blanket from the couch and covered her with it. She didn’t stir; she just grabbed the blanket with a smile and pulled it closer to her head.

Oliver watched her for a moment. She looked a lot younger in her sleep than she looked when he picked her up from the Bus Station a few hours ago. Her dark circles were gone almost completely; she had a small smile on her face and looked completely relaxed. He caught himself staring at her for a few moments, thinking about what she told him in his car about her family. He still wasn’t convinced she made the right decision and he knew the longer Thea hid her in their shed, the more trouble it meant for both of them. But the longer he watched her, the more he could understand her actions. He never paid close attention to her when she had been at the Mansion with Thea the last two years, but he heard Thea talk about her family from time to time. She seemed to have a tough family situation; at least he guessed so from what he heard about it. And with just the tiny bit of information Felicity had given him, he already knew that ‘tough family situation’ was the understatement of the year.

When she moved her hand to brush a strand of hair out of her face, Oliver took a step back. Not realizing he had been staring at her for a few minutes, he quickly made his way out of the Apartment and back to the Mansion.


	4. Chapter 4

When the sun had set and Moira and Robert Queen had returned back home, Raisa had served Dinner for the family. Thea was surprisingly quiet while she moved her food around on her plate. Moira was the first to notice the strange behavior of her only daughter.  
“Is everything alright, dear? You’re so quiet today.”

Thea looked up from her plate and gave her mother a nervous smile.  
“Yeah, just thinking about a school project I have to finish soon.” she lied. Moira just nodded slightly but didn’t ask any further and moved her attention to Oliver instead. As soon as they had finished Dinner, Robert and Moira excused themselves to their offices, leaving both Oliver and Thea alone in the Dining room.

“Are you going to bring Dinner over to Felicity?” Oliver asked his little sister who shot him a surprised look.

“Sure. I was going to head over there anyway, spending some time with her. Why do you ask? Want to bring over Dinner to her instead?” she waggled her eyebrows and Oliver threw some of his bread at her.  
“Don’t be silly. I know what you’re implying. She’s a kid, just like you and I’m not interested in her.”

“Whatever. And I’m no kid.” Thea replied with an eye roll and got up from her chair. She prepared a clean plate with a little bit of everything that Raisa had served and quickly sneaked out of the living room. Oliver just watched her leave and for a moment, he thought about following her. He shook off the thought though and made his way upstairs instead.

 

When Thea arrived at the shed, Felicity was already awake. She had lit some of the candles and sat in the living room, studying the school files Thea had left for her.  
When a soft knock came from the door, Felicity jerked back for a moment. As soon as she saw Thea’s face poking through the door though, she relaxed again and gave her friend a bright smile.  
“Hey Lissy, I brought Dinner.”

“You really don’t have to do that, Thea. I don’t want you to get caught – I’m causing you way too much trouble already anyway.” Felicity told her when Thea handed her the plate of warm food.

Thea just waved her hand in the air in a dismissive gesture. “Ah nonsense. You had a tough week and need to eat properly. And as long as we don’t get caught, everything’s fine.” Thea smiled at her.  
“So, what are you doing?”

“Studying the school stuff you left me.” Felicity replied when she when she returned from the kitchen with a fork in hand. “Oh, thanks for tucking me under the blanket when you brought over breakfast, by the way. I must have fallen asleep after shower.”

“Oh, I didn’t bring you breakfast. Raisa kept me busy. I sent Oliver to –“

When Felicity’s eyes widened in shock, Thea stopped speaking. “Lissy? What’s wrong?”

“Oliver brought me breakfast?” she asked with a nervous voice.

“Yeah. So?”

“Oh my god,” Felicity mumbled to herself. When Thea gave her a very confused look, Felicity continued talking. “I fell asleep after I got out of the shower… only wrapped in a towel.” she half mumbled and couldn’t hide her major blush covering her. After a few moments, Thea burst out laughing. Felicity was sure her entire face had reddened by now and she didn’t dare to look up.

“Oh my god, you’re having a crush on my brother!” Thea suddenly announced!

“I have not!” Felicity tried to protest but Thea was having none of that.

“Oh you totally do! Either that or you’re having a major allergic reaction that’s making your entire face go red.” she giggled.

“Please don’t tell him.” Felicity almost begged and Thea hugged her friend at that.

“Of course I won’t, Lissy. But Ollie is an idiot; wait till you see Tommy Merlyn instead!” Thea grinned and waggled her eyebrows at her.

 

The girls spend another hour talking over school stuff and the reasons why Felicity left her adoptive family. When Thea asked her if she missed anyone of them or regretted her decision to run away, Felicity realized she hadn’t spared her adoptive family any thought all day. It had been almost 7 days since she ran away from them and so far, she felt more at peace than she had felt the entire time she lived under their roof. She wasn’t an idiot, though. They were probably looking for her already and it scared her thinking she might be found and had to go back to them. Hiding in Queen Mansion would work for a short amount of time, but she knew she couldn’t hide forever.

When Thea’s phone rang and she checked to see Oliver calling, she let out an annoyed breath.  
“What’s up?”

“Mom is looking for you. You should probably come back inside. You have to get up for school tomorrow morning anyway.”  
Thea just groaned at that. “All right, MOM.”

 

The girls hugged once more before Thea made her way back to the Mansion, leaving Felicity alone for the night. After Thea left, Felicity decided to head out once more. She quickly dressed in sweat pants and a Hoodie, grabbed an apple and the flashlight from her bag and made her way downstairs and out of the shed. The walk over to the stable was a short one and as soon as she saw the main gate, she quickly slipped inside. Everything was still so familiar to her. The horses were in their stalls, nibbling on their hay. When she arrived at the very last stall, her face lit up.  
“Castiel.” she whispered and slowly opened the stall. She took a bite of the apple before she offered him the rest. When he was munching on the fruit, Felicity firmly wrapped her hands around his neck, snuggling her face into his mane.  
“I missed you so much, buddy.”

She spent almost half an hour in Castiel’s stall before her hands and feet started freezing. After a last peck on his nose, she made her way back to the shed.  
The candles wrapped the living room in a warm glow and Felicity didn’t dare to turn on any light, not wanting to waste too much electricity and too scared to draw attention from anyone at the Mansion.

Sleep came easily and for the first time, Felicity could actually enjoy the soft mattress and sheets the bed provided. She knew Thea had to leave for school early the next morning, so she didn’t expect to see her until the afternoon, which gave Felicity the opportunity to have a good lie-in; probably the first in months.

 

The next morning she was awoken by sunlight tickling her face. It had been a sunny day in Starling City and as soon as she got out of bed, Felicity hopped under the shower. When she sat on the living room carpet, studying the school papers, a soft knock pulled her out of her thoughts. She didn’t say anything, just looked to the door expectantly to see Oliver’s face peeking through.  
“Breakfast, Milady?” he asked her with a faked british accent and Felicity actually had to chuckle at that.

“I figured since Thea had to leave for school no one would be bringing you breakfast and I know for a fact that days that start without a cup of coffee usually turn out horribly.” he grinned at her when he took a seat next to her, but opted for the couch instead of the floor. “So what you’re doing?”

Felicity gave him a slightly confused look, surprised that Oliver actually considered sitting down and spending time with her. “You don’t have to do that, you know.” she told him when she grabbed a mug from the plate Oliver had carried in.

“What? Bringing over breakfast?” he laughed.

“No, feeling obligated to spend time with me because your little sister is occupied with High School.” Felicity told him while warming her hands on the coffee mug.

Oliver looked at her slightly surprised at her statement.  
“I’m not feeling obligated to spend time with you.” he half mocked at her. “I just figured you’d be hungry. But if you’d rather spend the morning alone –“ he told her and was ready to get up from the couch when Felicity stopped him.  
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound rude. Of course you can stay.” she smiled at him. “And thanks for the coffee.” She lifted the mug into the air slightly before she took a small sip of it.

Oliver plopped down on the couch again and watched her closely while Felicity tried to ignore his obvious staring by sipping on her coffee.  
“So… don’t you have a current hot girlfriend to waste your time with?” she suddenly blurted out and immediately regretted it. “I’m sorry, that was rude again. What I wanted to say was –“

“You think my past girlfriends were hot?” Oliver chuckled and Felicity was confused that he actually laughed about that and not became angry over her insult. “What, are you catching for the other Team or something?” His laughing became even louder.

Felicity looked at him in shock. “What? No! I just, I… whatever, forget it.” she mumbled with a frown and bowed her face over the coffee mug again.

“Hey, I was joking,” he bumped his knee into her shoulder, “so… what are your plans for today?”

 

Felicity was happy Oliver decided to drop the topic and change it to a lighter one. Even though she had no idea what to reply to his current question.  
“Well, since I can’t leave the Apartment in bright daylight, I’m going to work my way through the school stuff Thea left me and as soon as it’s dark outside I’ll check on Castiel again. And wow, that makes me sound like I’m a vampire…” she giggled.

“Who?” Oliver asked her with a confused face.

“Castiel.”

“Who’s Castiel?”

“One of your family’s horses?! The white one, currently grazing in the pasture over there.” Felicity motioned out of the kitchen window with her thumb. Oliver craned his neck to see a few horses grazing out in the field.

“Ah, that one. Yeah well I like it a little bit faster than 1 HP.” he grinned when suddenly his phone started ringing. Felicity jumped slightly at the sound but relaxed when she saw him lifting his phone to his ear while getting up from the carpet.  
“That’s Tommy. I gotta take this. See ya!” he called when he made his way out the door.

Felicity watched him leave and stared at the closed door for several more moments. Had Oliver just brought her breakfast and had an actual conversation with her? Like, a real conversation?  
The fangirl in her started to jump around in excitement, but then she thought about the things she said to him and face palmed herself.  
Basically telling him she doesn’t appreciate his gesture of bringing over coffee at first and then asking him if he didn’t have a girlfriend to fool around with instead of spending time with her. ‘Classy move, Smoak.’ she muttered to herself before she emptied the mug and put it in the sink.

 

\-------------------------------------

 

It had been one week since Felicity arrived in Starling City and so far, all her days followed the same pattern. Waking up to Oliver bringing her breakfast and coffee, sometimes making small talk but most of the time he just dropped off the plate on her table before she was awake – which scared her, somehow. Knowing he could see her sleeping, in her most vulnerable state, basically, gave her chills. Even though she wouldn’t mind watching Oliver sleep while she brought him… – “Focus, Felicity.”.

 

After breakfast, she always busied herself over school work or looked over the homework Thea had been given. To Felicity it was incredibly exciting being able to do stuff for school again and Thea? She was just amazingly thankful that someone else did her homework and saved her grades at the same time. So she didn’t complain one bit.  
Afternoons were spent with Thea, most of the time. Moira and Robert often stayed at Queen Consolidated until late in the evening and as long as Thea made sure to be at the Mansion when Dinner was served, no one got suspicious.  
Every evening, when it got dark outside and Thea had to leave for the night, Felicity sneaked out of the shed and into the horse stable to pay Castiel a visit. After 3 days, the stallion already awaited her and greeted her with a small whicker.

 

On the 5th night, Oliver caught her sneaking out of the shed when he returned home later that evening. He silently followed her to the stable to see what she might be up to. As soon as he saw her slipping into the stallion’s stall and kiss the horse’s nose, he cleared his throat and grinned at her. She jumped at the sound, dropping her flashlight in the process.  
“Your boyfriend is pretty hairy,” Oliver added with a chuckle when Felicity visibly relaxed after seeing him standing there.

Felicity just rolled her eyed and turned her attention away from Oliver before she started scratching the horses back.  
“He is more loyal, gentle and attentive than any boyfriend could ever be.” Felicity spoke to Oliver while she untangled the horses’ mane, never looking at Oliver directly.

He quirked an eyebrow at that. “Do you have such a large history of ex-boyfriends to make a statement like that?”

“Well, wouldn’t you like to know that?” Felicity smirked at him and was actually surprised about herself as soon as the words left her mouth.

“Yeah, maybe I would.” he just replied with a wink that threw Felicity completely off track.

When Oliver was about to open the stallion’s stall door, Felicity lifted a hand to stop him. “I wouldn’t do that. He hates men – another thing I like about him, by the way.” Felicity smiled, even though she didn’t know why she was telling him that. It was either to protect him from being attacked by Castiel – or it was to protect herself from Oliver coming too near her at that moment. She had no idea, but either way, Oliver let go of the stall door and took a step back, eyeing the horse carefully.

After a long moment of silence, the only sound coming from the horses nibbling on the hay, Felicity suddenly spoke up with a low voice, looking straight at him while she spoke.  
“Why are you here, Oliver?”

Confusion was written all over his face before he answered.  
“I just saw you sneaking out of the Shed when I came back home and wanted to see what you’re up to.” he shrugged.

“No, I mean… why are you here, at all? With me? I’m Thea’s friend, not yours. You’ve made that pretty clear a few times already. And I know I’m over 5 years younger than you, so I’m just wondering why you care about me, that’s all.”

Oliver stared at her for a moment before he thought about a reply. It wasn’t that he considered Felicity a friend, but he couldn’t tell he didn’t care for her either.  
“It’s not that I don’t care about you, Felicity. You’re a good friend of Thea so of course I care about you. I don’t know - I just thought checking in on you from time to time would be cool.” he shrugged.

“I don’t need a watchdog!” she snapped at him. “If I did, I could very well have stayed in Detroit.”

“I didn’t mean it like that – it’s just… if I were in your position, I’m sure I’d be bored as hell all day in that Apartment, so I thought paying you a visit every now and then would be a cool thing. But if you don’t like that, I can waste my time with some hot girlfriends instead, no problem.” he tried to lighten up the mood and Felicity actually had to smile at that.

“My hands and feet are freezing… I should probably get back inside.” she told him and when she gave Castiel a last peck on his nose, she made her way to the stall door again. Oliver opened it for her and Felicity hesitantly stepped out. Tugging her hands in the pocket of her Hoodie, Felicity silently made her way out of the stable. She could hear Oliver following her after he closed the stall and wondered if he’d directly head up to the Mansion or if he would accompany her to the shed first. She secretly hoped he would follow her, but that was just her fangirl heart thinking, so she quickly drained that thought again.  
When Oliver didn’t leave her side and wordlessly followed her to the shed though, she took a deep breath. Why did she suddenly become so nervous? There was nothing to be nervous about, she thought to herself. Oliver had been at the shed plenty of times the last few days.

When she took the first few steps to the Apartment, Oliver cleared his throat.  
“Can I come up? Or are you tired?” he asked her, a hesitance in his voice that made Felicity cautious.

“Of course you can come up, I mean… it’s your building, after all.” she blurted out before she could think about a proper answer. Oliver just sent her a small smile and took the first step. She quickly opened the door and rushed inside, not able to get too close to him. Oliver closed the door behind him and watched her run through the room, picking up clothes that were strewn all over the floor. When she threw the bedspread over the mattress to hide her messy sheets, Oliver let out a soft chuckle.  
“You don’t have to clean up for me, you know? My room doesn’t look any different, so…”

When Felicity slipped away to the bathroom, he took a seat on the couch and started casually checking out the school papers that were spread all over the coffee table. Some of them had Thea’s name on them but the handwriting he saw on those papers most definitely wasn’t his little sisters’.

“Could you do my homework as well, please?” he laughed at her when Felicity emerged from the kitchen, carrying two cans of Coke to the living room. She handed him a can and took a seat in the far other corner of the couch.

“Sure,” she shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal. “I mean, what kind of homework are you talking about?”

Oliver looked at her in surprise. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah, sure. I mean… I still need to thank you for helping me and for keeping my secret, so if this is my way of thanking you, I’ll gladly help if I can.”  
Oliver gave her a small smile at that.

“Thanks for the offer, but I doubt you can help me with Business Informatics.”

“Let me give it a try and we’ll see.” she grinned at him.

“Alright, I’ll bring over the stuff tomorrow evening so you can have a look. And as far as keeping your secret goes… trust me, I have my fair share of secrets I’m keeping from others, I just added yours to the pile, no big deal.” he winked at her and Felicity had to blush at that.  
“So,” Oliver started while opening his Drink, “you said your Mother wanted to dictate who you were allowed to date… did she pick someone for you already? Was that why you ran away?”

Felicity shifted nervously in her seat. Thea had avoided talking about the whole running-away scenario completely and Felicity was very thankful about that. The less she had to talk about it, the less she thought about it. And not thinking about it helped her relax and enjoy her current living situation, even though she knew she couldn’t live like this forever. She would have to come out of the hiding at some point, she would have to go back to school, and start living a life outside of this shed. But so far, she didn’t feel like she could manage any of that.

“My Stepmother, not my mother. Mom died when I was 4. And no, she didn’t pick someone for me, but she wanted to forbid me seeing someone.”

“So you had a boyfriend?”

Felicity’s head shot up at that. She didn’t feel comfortable talking to Oliver about it, but something in his voice made her reply anyway. He seemed curious getting to know more about her, which made her heart flutter a bit.  
“No, not exactly.” she half laughed. Matt had been far less than a boyfriend, considering she just spent one afternoon with him before he kissed her and all hell broke loose after that.

When she saw Oliver expect her to tell him more, she took a deep breath before she continued speaking.  
“There was that guy in our neighborhood. He asked me out one afternoon and when we came back, my stepmother saw us. When I came home, she threw a fit, yelled at me, slapped me – twice, told me she would be the one picking out my Dates and then she dragged me upstairs by my ponytail.” Felicity replied with a shrug and Oliver just stared at her in shock. He knew her adoptive family wasn’t exactly the best, from what Thea had told him, but he never expected it to be that horrible.

“Was this the first time it happened?”

“You mean a guy asking me out?” she joked and Oliver actually had to laugh at that. She rarely heard him laugh and quickly realized how much she liked it.

“No, I mean your stepmother slapping you and being so mean.”

“Well, most of the time she ignored me, and I was completely fine with that. I think it was the fact that she saw me with that guy that made her snap like that.”

Oliver thought about that for a moment while Felicity crossed her legs on the couch and got herself in a more comfortable position. Oliver leaned back into the cushions and rested his arms over the back, his fingers just inches away from her shoulder. Felicity tried not to be affected by it.

“Weren’t you scared for one moment? All alone out there?” he suddenly asked her after a long moment of silence.

“Well, it was either this or staying at my step-parents home. So the decision was pretty easy for me. Even sharing my room with 50 muggers was more appalling than staying in that family.” she replied and Oliver would have laughed at that if he hadn’t seen how serious her face was.

“Do you have any plans yet? I mean, I don’t have a problem with you living in here for as long as you want and I’m sure Thea doesn’t either, but I’m not so sure about Mom and Dad…”

“I’m not going back!” Felicity immediately replied, sitting straight up on the couch. “I’d rather run away again and keep living under a rock until I’m 18 and can’t be dragged back there, but no way in hell I will go back there. The more I think about it, the more I realize I should have run away a lot sooner.” she spoke in a calm voice and Oliver listened closely. It was rare that he had a serious conversation with anyone else than his mother, so he actually enjoyed talking to Felicity, the age difference aside.

“Yeah but I mean… wouldn’t you want to live inside a real house instead of this shed?” Oliver asked her while gesturing around the room.

“Oh trust me, I have lived in far worse conditions than this,” she assured him with a huff, “in fact, this is probably the nicest Apartment I’ve ever lived in since I had to leave my parents home.”

“Well if you ever want to get out of this shed, you can always hide in my room for a while.” he told her and Felicity eyed him for a moment before she replied.

“Oliver Queen… did you just invite me to your bedroom?” she asked him with a quirked eyebrow.

“Well, maybe I did.” he winked at her with a grin.  
When he saw her staring at him in confusion, unable to reply anything to that, Oliver realized that he just tried to make a move on Thea’s best friend. Thea’s very underage best friend. He nervously cleared his throat, got up from the couch, threw the empty can in the trash and made a beeline for the door.  
“I uh… I should probably get going.” he half stammered and Felicity couldn’t even blink at how fast he rushed out of the Apartment and away from the building.

That night, she lay awake for a long while, thinking about what Oliver said to her and how she enjoyed having him around; even though she didn’t know how to react to his flirtations. Were they even flirtations at all? Or was this just his way of joking around and messing with her head. She had no idea, but it was in fact messing with her head.

 

The next morning, Thea was the one ripping her out of her sleep. When Felicity looked at the clock and realized it was already past 8, she sat up and looked straight at Thea.  
“Don’t you have to be in school since 2 hours?”

“No MOM, I don’t. It’s Saturday. Besides, normally you’d have to be at school as well, so stop wet-nursing me, Lissy.” Thea rolled her eyes and hopped off the bed.  
“I brought you breakfast, and we have plans for today.” Thea announced and clapped her hands together excitingly.

“Plans? What kind of plans could you make that would involve me, exactly?” Felicity asked her while getting out of bed.

“We’re going out for a ride today. I already told Raisa I won’t be home for Dinner, she’ll make me a doggy pack so we don’t have to worry being seen – AND we’ll have something to eat. Raisa won’t be looking for me and Mom and Dad are away until late in the evening. We’ll be home hours before they return.” Thea grinned at her. When she saw Felicity hesitate for a moment, Thea continued her persuasion.  
“Oh come onnnnnn, Lissy! It has been months since we had the chance to ride out together and you told me yourself you miss riding Castiel. I’ll just get the horses ready, leave with both and we’ll meet at the wood trail behind the stables. No one will see you! Pretty please?”

Felicity just sighed and nodded. “Okay. But I you need to lend me one of your riding pants; I didn’t bring any with me.”

“Well if that’s the only problem.” Thea grinned at her and plopped onto the couch.

 

Thea told her about her newest school project while Felicity ate breakfast. As soon as she was finished, Thea left the Apartment to gather everything for the ride. Felicity took the time to shower and get ready. After Thea dropped off a pair of riding pants, she made her way to the stable to get the horses ready.

When Felicity arrived at the trail on the south corner of the property, Thea was already waiting for her, both horses at hand. They quickly got in the saddle and started their trail into the woods.

 

Hours later, the girls returned home, all happy and giggly and just in time before dark clouds formed in the sky and it started to pour. Since Thea had to share her food with Felicity and was still hungry, she decided to try and find something to eat in the Mansion. The girls hugged and said their goodbyes for the evening and Thea promised to stop by as soon as she could the next day.

While Thea ran upstairs to the Mansion, Felicity took her time unsaddling both horses and wrapping them in warm blankets. After she fed them both a shovel of grain, she took a brush and started freeing Castiel from dirt and sweat while he munched on his food. After a few minutes she looked up to find Oliver watching her, leaning against a wall with his arms crossed over his chest. She tried not to jerk back and scare the horse, but Oliver could see her surprise. After she took a breath and turned her attention to Castiel again, Oliver spoke up.  
“What is it with you and this horse?”

“Like I told you, he’s loyal, gentle and attentive. So far I haven’t met any other human being that sports all these features.” she shrugged.

“I was waiting for you.” he suddenly replied.

Felicity’s head whipped around at that and hey eyebrows shot up.  
“Why would you wait for me?”

“You offered your help with my Business Informatics problem, remember?”

Oh, that. Yeah, she remembered pretty well, but after Oliver left so quickly the night before, she wasn’t sure if he would still consider the offer.  
“Oh uhm… sure? Let me get Castiel ready and we can head upstairs.” she smiled at him. The thought of being able to occupy her head with something else than boring High School work was very appealing to her. Plus, it would help her keeping her thoughts away from Oliver, even though he would be with her in the room. A pretty awesome looking and even more awesome smelling Oliver waiting for her just a few feet away, even in his wet leather jacket.  
“Oh god,” she mumbled to herself when she realized she must be smelling like a dead horse after sitting in the saddle for almost 10 hours.

“I’m sorry, what?” Oliver asked her.

“Oh, nothing.” She quickly replied and left the stall. After putting the brush away and removing both horses’ blankets, she gave Oliver a quick smile and started running to the shed, always careful to keep a good distance to Oliver and trying not to slip on the wet grass. Landing on her butt in the rain was the last thing she needed in front of Oliver.

As soon as she arrived upstairs she saw a big file sitting on the coffee table.  
_‘So he must have waited for me here’_ she thought to herself before the door closed behind her.

Quickly turning around and taking a few steps backwards to the bathroom, Felicity motioned for Oliver to sit down on the couch.  
“I uh… I really need to take a shower first. Why don’t you have a seat and prepare the files you’d need help with? I’ll be back in 5 minutes.”

Before Oliver could reply, Felicity had rushed into the bathroom and firmly closed the door behind her. He could hear the shower being started with a small smile on his face he threw his wet jacket over the back of a chair and started pulling out different papers, spreading them on the table. He pulled two cans of Coke from the fridge and put them on the table as well when suddenly his phone started ringing.  
“Hey, buddy. Yeah no, I need to cancel for tonight… yeah, believe it or not, I’m actually studying… no I’m not studying Julia’s breasts, I’m studying for College, you idiot!” Oliver laughed. “I just can’t afford to drop out of College again, that’s all… yeah, alright, talk to you tomorrow buddy. Don’t party too hard!” he laughed before he ended the call. Just when he looked up from the coffee table, he saw Felicity, only dressed in a white towel, rushing through the Apartment back to the bathroom.

 

When she emerged a few minutes later, dressed in a Hoodie and what appeared to be her sleep shorts, Oliver took a sharp breath. He had never cared for Felicity’s figure at all, not even when the girls were in the Pool all those months ago. But seeing Felicity now in these shorts, leaving most of her legs uncovered, made him look twice for a moment.

She gave him a shy look and quickly made her way over to the couch, draping a blanket over her lap, and Oliver took his time to fully look at her while she pulled the files into her lap. Her brown hair was still damp and fell over her shoulder in soft, wet curls. Her blue eyes, framed by some glasses, were closely studying the files in front of her. She had a few small freckles on her nose that he never noticed before, but then again he never paid her that much attention before either. When Felicity turned her head to the side and looked at him, he cleared his throat and nervously looked down at the files.  
“Does any of that make sense to you?”

“Well,” she started, flicking through the pages, “I’ve never done something like this before. If you could give me some days to look this over, I can tell you if I can be of any help.” she smiled at him.

“Uh, sure. Keep the folder as long as you need it. It’s not that I’d miss it that much.” He chuckled and Felicity had to laugh at that, too.

“If you hate College so much, why are you still doing this?” she asked him in a serious tone.

“Because it’s what my parents are expecting me to do.” he just shrugged. “So I can take over the Company one day.”

“You do realize that this isn’t any different than what my step-parents tried to do with me, right?” she suddenly asked him and Oliver looked at her in confusion.

“What?”

“You know… my stepmother expected me to do live like she planned out for me, to later produce a heir to her family and carry on the family line – which is completely idiotic considering none of her children are actually her own, but you get the point. Your family is trying the same with you. But is that really what you want from life as well? Taking over the mantle of Queen Consolidated in a few years?”

Oliver actually had to think about that for a moment. Never had someone asked him that question before, let alone a 15-year old friend of his little sister. But she had a point. Was this what he really wanted for himself? He hated going to College, but that wasn’t necessarily because of the fact that he should take over the Company someday but because he hated Schools and College in general. But on the other hand Oliver couldn’t deny the fact that he always tried to think as less as possible about filling a position at QC. Failing at classes was something he didn’t mind too much, because it helped him gain time before he’d graduate. And just at Felicity’s statement, he realized that failing all these classes wasn’t just due to his laziness. He had no intention of finishing any College any time soon.  
“It’s not that easy.” he told her after a while and Felicity watched him closely all the time.

“In my case it wasn’t either, but I was done letting other people make decisions for my life. And if I can do that, I’m sure you can do so, too, Oliver.” she smiled at him.

“Yeah well I can’t just run away and hide in a friends’ shed and wait until everything calms down. Life isn’t that easy. That’s not how it works.”  
When Oliver saw how Felicity’s face fell at his statement, he realized what he must have said.  
“I’m sorry, that came out wrong. That wasn’t aimed at you. It’s just… we come from two different worlds and I can’t solve all my problems by running away. That might work in your world, but not in mine.”

 

Two different worlds. That hurt. And Oliver couldn’t have been any clearer. She didn’t fit in his world and he didn’t fit in hers. And even if she knew she was being ridiculous hoping that one day, Oliver might recognize her for more than just Thea’s best friend, hearing these words from him at that moment hurt her.  
She bowed her head, facing her lap and just nodded slightly.  
_‘Don’t cry, Felicity. Focus, god damn… don’t cry while he’s sitting next to you.’_ she repeated in her head over and over.

After a few moments, she put the folder out of her lap and got up from the couch, keeping the blanket safely wrapped around her lower body.  
“I’m pretty tired. I’ll look this over tomorrow and let Thea know when you can have your folder back.” she gave him a forced smile and made her way over to the bed.

Oliver was taken aback for a moment, while Felicity moved around the Apartment. He didn’t know where the sudden change in mood came from, but Felicity’s behavior made it pretty clear to him that she wanted him gone. So he reluctantly got up from the couch and made his way to the door.  
“Uh… well, good night.” he hesitantly told her before he opened the door and left the Apartment. Just when she could hear the main gate of the shed being closed, Felicity started to cry. The day had started so awesome with Thea and the horses and when she saw Oliver waiting for her, she got even happier. But him telling her they were coming from 2 different worlds? It shattered the perfect scenario that she built in her head completely to the ground.

 

Oliver made his way to the Mansion and thought about the sudden change in Felicity’s behavior. He would have loved to stay with her a little longer, just enjoy her company.

“What in the world is wrong with you, Queen?” he muttered to himself. “She’s Thea’s High School friend, for fucks sake! I really need to get laid again.” he mumbled to himself when he made his way up the stairs to his room. A quick check of his watch made him realize it was only past 11pm, so he quickly pulled out his phone and called Tommy.  
“Hey buddy! Change of plans! You, me, and a good amount of booze and boobs! I’ll meet you at Verdant in 1 hour! – Alright, see ya!”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the lovely readers who are concerned about Felicity being underage:
> 
> Fear not! I will not go down the road to illegality with this Story! :D

Felicity hadn’t seen Oliver for multiple days after their little fall out on Saturday evening. Since Thea had to be at school again, she couldn’t visit Felicity in the early mornings and bring over breakfast. Secretly, Felicity hoped Oliver would come over and say Hi, but every morning she woke up, a plate with breakfast and a coffee mug was already waiting for her on the couch table, but no Oliver in sight.  
It went like that for several days and Felicity hated it. She even told Thea to inform her brother she would need some of his study books, in hopes of having him bringing them over so she could at least see and talk to him for a few minutes. In the end, Thea came over with the books in hand. Felicity tried to hide a frown, but knew she had to step up her game if she wanted to see and talk to Oliver again.  
So for Friday morning, she set the alarm clock on her phone to 5am to make 100% sure she wouldn’t miss him when he’d bring over breakfast.

 

Getting to bed early had been a great idea, Felicity realized when the ringing sound of her phone pulled her out of her sleep. She knew she wasn’t a morning person and 5am was like the middle of the night, but she had a plan. She showered in record time, always making sure she wouldn’t miss him, before she took a seat on the couch and started working through the books and files Oliver had left her there, her hair still loosely wrapped in a towel. She already finished writing an essay for him but still needed to work through a few more tasks.  
She got so caught up in her work that she didn’t hear silent footsteps coming up the stairs. When the door opened slowly, her head shot up in surprise. She saw Oliver peeking his head through it, clearly in search of her bed. She saw him startle for a moment when he didn’t find her in there before he started looking through the room. As soon as he spotted her sitting on the carpet in front of the couch, he completely froze on the spot.  
‘Got’cha!’ Felicity thought to herself and made an internal fist-pump.

 

“Hey,” she smiled at him and waited for him to enter the Apartment.

Oliver took a tentative step inside, a breakfast plate in hand.  
“I uh… I thought you were still asleep.”

“Yeah, well, couldn’t sleep any more, so I thought I’d busy myself with some Business Informatics, you know?” she lied with a broad smile. The proud feeling of having him caught when he tried to sneak away from her again made her more confident. Something about her made him nervous – and she was about to find out what it was.

“Oh hey, I just finished an essay for you last night. You just have to type it down on your Laptop and give it to your Professor. Maybe read it once or twice before, so you know what you’ve been writing about.” she joked and Oliver actually had to laugh at that. She didn’t hand him the paper though, she placed it on the table next to her, so Oliver would have to leave the spot he had been frozen to since he entered the Apartment and approach her. When he put the tray down and was about to make his way over to the couch, Felicity looked up at him.  
“Oh, could you bring me that coffee mug, please? Like a wise man once told me, ‘Days that start without a cup of coffee usually turn out horribly.’”

Oliver gave her a small smile, remembering that it was him telling her that the first day he brought her breakfast. When he handed her the mug, he hesitantly took a seat on the couch.

“So... What have you been up to all week?” she casually asked him between sips of her coffee, watching him out of the corner of her eye.

“Oh, Tommy kept me busy the entire week. He met some girls from Europe at a Club and somehow convinced me to help him play city guide to the girls.”

Felicity looked up from her mug and eyed him for a moment.  
“So… you got a new girlfriend?”

She tried to sound casual, but there was something in her voice that made Oliver look up… she sounded different – jealous?  
He got curious.  
“Not yet… working on it.” he lied with a wink. Truth was, none of the girls Tommy dragged to their table on Saturday night was appealing to him. He spent the night with one of them after all, but he couldn’t be farer from calling that chick a girlfriend. He wouldn’t tell Felicity that, though. He was too curious to see her reaction to his lie.

Felicity just nodded slightly as if the information wasn’t a big deal to her but Oliver could see her tensing up next to him. It made him proud, even though he had no idea why.

 

Surprisingly to him, Felicity changed the topic to his Business Informatics after that question. She explained him the contents of the essay and asked him a few questions about things she didn’t quite figure out yet. They fell into an easy conversation and for the first time, Felicity was so engrossed in the work in front of her that she completely forgot how close to Oliver she actually was.  
At one point during the conversation he also sat down on the carpet next to her while she explained him a few things. And even though he tried to be as subtle as possible with flirting with Felicity, there was no subtle way to put his hand on her thigh, so he settled for leaning his shoulder close to hers. Felicity never looked up or moved away from him, apparently so engrossed in the work in front of her and explaining him everything that she didn’t realize. But Oliver did. And he liked how well her body molded to his side.

 

When Oliver got a call though, he groaned internally and excused himself, got up from the carpet and left her alone in the Apartment once again.

After Oliver had left, Felicity had spent the entire morning on pampering herself. She wrapped her brown locks in a warm towel after she applied a good amount of coconut oil to get it back to life again; she removed the chipped black nail polish from her hands and feet and replaced it through brighter colors. It had been months since Felicity had painted her nails a different color than black and with Thea’s assortment of polishes that she carried over a few nights ago, Felicity wasn’t too happy to not find black among them.  
After Thea grinned and teased her that Oliver would prefer more bright colors anyway, Felicity just threw a pillow at her best friend. But somehow it stuck with her.  
Which was why she found herself sitting cross-legged on the carpet in front of the TV table, applying bright pink nail polish to her fingernails.

When Thea entered the Apartment, Felicity was busy getting her eyebrows in shape again. Thea watched her friend while leaning next to the door, sometimes teasing her about wanting to look good for Oliver.  
Felicity always shot her a look through the mirror, but truth was, Thea was right. Of course she did it for herself, too. But since Oliver paid her regular visits now and even got close into her personal space from time to time, she could at least make sure she looked proper.

The girls spent the afternoon working on Thea’s school stuff and homework until Thea had to leave for Dinner at the Mansion. It was one of the rare days where the Queen family would have Dinner together and Moira expected her at the table of course, so Thea couldn’t skip it.  
Felicity waved her off with a smile and promised to have all her homework ready when Thea would come back afterwards.

 

Even though she would have loved to skip Dinner, Thea enjoyed sitting together with her brother and her parents. It was rare that Moira and Robert hat time for meals together, most of the time it was at least one of them working late or, in Robert’s case, out of country. So often it was just Oliver and Thea, occasionally with Tommy joining them.  
Just when Dessert was about to be served, Moira cleared her throat.

“Children, we both know we haven’t had much time together in the last few months. After your father took over the European Offices of Queen Consolidated, we had a lot of things to take care of. Now that most of these things are handled, Robert and I had a great idea. We would like to go on vacation again, the entire family.” Moira smiled at Oliver and Thea but both kids just stared at her mother.

“Vacation? As in going away somewhere?” Thea asked her mother with a slightly confused tone.

“Yes, dear. I thought Aspen would be a great place to visit for a few days. It has been too long since we have stayed at the Lodge there, anyway.” Moira smiled at her daughter.

“I’m sorry, I’m out. College and stuff.” Oliver raised his hands in surrender but Moira just tilted her head.

“Oliver, I think we both know that you’re not that invested in College to use this as an excuse. Besides, your father and I didn’t plan to fly away tomorrow. Of course we would wait until you’re on your Winter break – both of you.” Moira smiled and looked from Oliver to Thea while she spoke.

Thea immediately had to think of Felicity. She couldn’t stay alone in the shed for more than a week. There was no way she could come into the Mansion and get herself something to eat without being seen. Same went for leaving the property to buy herself some food.  
Smuggling Felicity to Aspen with her wouldn’t work either, not even with the help from Oliver.  
She had to find a solution for that problem if she couldn’t avoid joining her parents on that vacation.

 

After Dinner, Robert and Moira excused themselves from the table to make some important calls, leaving Oliver and Thea alone in the big dining room.  
“You aren’t interested to go on vacation with Mom and Dad, are you?” Thea suddenly asked Oliver and he just raised an eyebrow at her.  
“Are you?”

Thea just laughed slightly and started fumbling with her napkin.

“Don’t you want to go on vacation for the obvious reasons or is it because of Felicity?” he suddenly asked her and Thea’s head shot up at that. “I see.” he just winked at her.  
“Speedy, you do know you can’t hide her in there forever, right? I mean yes, it might work for now, and it even worked longer than I have guessed in the first place, but Felicity isn’t a Hamster that you can build a cage for and then keep it in there until it dies.” Oliver warned his little sister but Thea just crossed her arms in front of her chest and gave him a hard look.

“I know that!” she spat at him. “But I am just happy she is here. Besides, I’m already working on a plan how to tell Mom, so please spare me your speech of responsibility. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to bring the ‘Hamster’ some food.” she mocked before she got up from the table, filling a clean plate with several goods.

Oliver just shook his head and went to leave the dining room. Thea quickly filled the plate with different kinds of meat and vegetables when she slipped out of the back door in the kitchen and out to the back yard.

 

When Moira returned to the Dining room to pick up her forgotten purse, she saw her daughter walking over the back yard through the darkness on quick feet, carrying something that looked like a plate. Moira watched her with a confused look for a moment until Thea made a turn and disappeared behind the small group of trees separating the back yard from the horse stables. Eager to see what her daughter was up to, Moira slipped on a coat and made her way out to the yard, walking into the direction Thea disappeared to.  
Just when she rounded the trees, she could see the horse stable and the shed a few feet away at the back of the property. Small light flickered out of the windows of the upper level. Apparently there were some candles burning.  
Moira smiled and slightly shook her head when she walked the distance to the shed. Thea had spent a lot of time in the shed Apartment when she had been little and it took Moira always multiple attempts to make the little girl sleep in her own bed rather than the uncomfortable bed near the horses.

So when she took the small steps to the upper level, sure to find her daughter sitting there, listening to music of doing some other typical Thea-stuff, she had a content smile on her lips. Never would she have guessed the scene before her when she opened the door and stepped inside.

 

Thea sat on the couch cross-legged, obviously deeply engaged in a conversation about nail polishes and the latest in-colors with another young woman sitting on the couch, half her back to Moira.  
Just when said woman turned slightly to put a water bottle on the couch table, Moira’s eyes shot open.

“Felicity?”

Both girls’ heads shot around at the sudden voice coming from the door. The moment Thea spotted her mother standing in the door, she completely froze in shock. Felicity however, turned on the couch, stared at the Queen matriarch for a moment and then awkwardly raised her hand for a small, awkward wave.  
“Hey, Mrs Queen.”

 

After Moira looked at her daughter for a few moments, confusion written all over her face, she turned her attention to Felicity.  
“What are you doing here?”

Now it was all or nothing. Thea and her had discussed that scenario a few times already, but every time they did, they had decided when and how to tell Thea’s parents. Now, with Moira having stepped in on their secret, there was no way this could play out as planned. So Felicity had to decide what to do. And she had to do it quickly.

After gulping, she gave Moira a nervous smile.  
“I… kind of… ran away from home.”

If Moira’s expression was anything but surprised, she hid it well. She fully stepped into the Apartment, closed the door behind her and walked over to the couch where Thea and Felicity were still frozen in place.  
“You ran away.”

Felicity just nodded.

After a few moments of silence, Moira spoke again.  
“I take it your parents don’t know you are here?”

“They are not my parents.” Felicity just mumbled into her lap, head hanging low. “And no, they don’t know. And I don’t intend on telling them.” she told the Queen Matriarch, looking up at her for the first time since she entered the Apartment.

After taking a deep breath, Moira addressed both girls when she spoke up.  
“I think we should finish this conversation inside the House.”  
She quickly gave the girls a slight smile but kept on her face that Thea knew meant there was no room for objection. Both girls reluctantly got up from the couch and while Thea slowly stepped towards her mother, Felicity immediately went to the bed, pulled out the duffel bag hidden under it and started packing things in it.  
“I will send Raisa to do that later, Felicity.” Moira announced and Felicity immediately stopped moving.

When Moira opened the door and took the first few steps downstairs, followed by Thea, Felicity quickly ran up and wrapped her hand around her best friends’ arm. The scared, teary look that Thea saw in her best friends’ eyes was heartbreaking. Thea knew that Felicity was about to dash into the woods as soon as they were out in the darkness, so she firmly intertwined her fingers with Felicity and started following her mother again.

 

Entering the Queen Mansion for the first time in more than 4 months felt weird. Especially since she could see the house in broad daylight through the small forest every day since she arrived here. So when Moira led them through the almost empty house, obviously navigating for the living room, Felicity’s nervousness only increased. She knew Moira would send her back to her family. She would inform the Adoption Centre and her step-parents and then Felicity would be sent back to the hell she ran away from a little over two weeks ago.

When Moira sat down at the couch and motioned for both Thea and Felicity to take a seat opposite of her, the girls slowly sat down. Felicity kept Thea’s hand in a death grip the entire time and was too scared to look the Queen Matriarch in the eye.

After watching the two girls for a few moments, Moira spoke up in a calm and quiet voice.  
“Okay, Felicity. Would you please tell me how you ended up in our Garden Shed?”

Felicity looked at Thea in panic, not sure what to tell the woman sitting opposite of her. Before she could form a coherent thought though, the words already sputtered out of her.  
“Look, this isn’t Thea’s fault. I asked her for help. Please don’t punish her, she really isn’t at fault!”

Moira raised one of her hands that she kept neatly folded in her lap and stopped Felicity’s ramble almost mid-sentence.  
“Felicity, relax. Start from the beginning, please.”

“Okay.” Felicity just mumbled before she took a deep breath and looked up. And then she told the Queen Matriarch everything. How she ran away after the fallout with her parents. How she spent the nights out alone. How Thea had helped her coming to Starling City and how she hid in the shed for almost 2 weeks now. What her plans were when she ran away and how she planned this to work out as soon as she arrived in Starling City.

Moira listened closely to everything Felicity told her. Thea just sat silently next to Felicity on the couch, her gaze always switching between her mother and her best friend.

 

“Felicity?” suddenly came a slightly surprised and confused voice from the hallway. All 3 women looked around to see Oliver standing there, confusion written all over his face. To Moira it could have appeared that Oliver was just surprised to see Thea’s best friend sitting in their living room at 9 in the evening in the middle of the week. But Felicity and Thea knew the look only meant confusion as to why Felicity was sitting on the couch in the Mansion right now rather than on her couch in the Shed.  
“Uh… what are you doing here?” he asked in a hesitant voice, trying his best to cover his knowledge about the young girl being on the Queen property for 2 weeks now.

“That I am trying to find out right now.” Moira replied with a smile.

 

Oliver quickly exchanged looks with Thea and Felicity that apparently caught Moira’s eye. When he excused himself again and left the living room, Moira quickly got up and followed him.  
“Oliver. Did you know about this?” she asked him with a stern voice.

Oliver just pressed his lips together tightly but didn’t say anything. When Moira just nodded and was about to return to the girls again, he stopped her.  
“Mom… she’s a good girl, you know? She is smart and I don’t think she would have considered running away if the situation with her family hadn’t been really hard.”

“I know, Oliver.” Moira just smiled at him before she turned and entered the living room again.

 

Both girls watched the Queen Matriarch closely until she spoke again.  
“Raisa will prepare a room next to Thea for you for the night. It’s late and we all need some rest. Tomorrow we will call the Adoption Centre and your family in Detroit. They need to be informed if you don’t want to risk a nationwide search for you.” When Moira could sense Felicity was about to protest, she raised a hand and continued speaking.  
“Now is not the time to argue, dear. I need some time to process everything and I want both of you girls to be fit tomorrow. And until then, I don’t want either of you to worry.” she smiled at both girls before she got up from the couch. “Oh, and I expect both of you to still be in the House by tomorrow morning.” The look she sent the girls was especially addressed to Felicity and both girls just nodded slightly.  
“Now, Thea, take Felicity upstairs to her room, please. I will have Raisa send everything from the Shed up to your room shortly.” Moira smiled before she made her way out of the living room again.

 

As soon as Thea took a seat on the bed in the large guest room next to hers, Felicity started pacing the room.  
“I can’t stay here, Thea. Your mom will send me back. And I mean, who could blame her? My mother probably would have done the same if she’d have found you in our shed.” she babbled while she walked up and down the room with quick steps.

“Lissy, calm down. Mom said she will think about everything. Maybe she’ll just call the Adoption Center to let them know you’re safe here?” Thea offered with a small smile but Felicity just raised an eyebrow at that.  
“Okay, what about this… if Mom really decides to send you back tomorrow morning, we’ll find a way for you to get away from here. If you say you don’t want to go away to Detroit, I’ll support you. Grandma owns an old Lodge in Coeur d’Alene that we haven’t visited in years. We could get there and then figure out our next steps. We would just have to find a way to get out of the house and get to Idaho.” Thea bounced on the bed and smiled broadly at her friend.

“Thea, you’re not running away with me.” Felicity didn’t even have to try and sound firm. There was no way she would drag her best friend, a Queen heir, into this mess called her life.  
“I’m not going to drag you deeper into this than I already did. If I have to go, I’ll go alone. And I’ll find a new place to live, don’t worry.”

“Yeah nope. I’m not letting you do this alone again, Lissy.” Thea replied when she got up from the bed. “But for now, let’s just get some sleep and see what Mom has to say tomorrow morning, okay?”

 

Felicity just nodded when suddenly a knock on the door stopped the girls’ conversation. Raisa slowly opened the door and entered the room with a big smile on her face.  
“Miss Felicity, it is so nice to see you again. I have your clothes from the shed. Please let me know if you are missing something.” she smiled at Felicity and handed her the duffel bag filled with her clothes.  
“Mrs. Queen also asked me to inform you that she expects you to join Miss Thea at breakfast tomorrow morning. Don’t be late.” she waved a warning finger at Thea who just rolled her eyes at that. With that, Raise made her way out of the room and left the girls to their conversation again.

 

“Before you start arguing again, let’s stick to the plan, see what Mom has to say tomorrow morning and then we’ll work out a plan. You can even keep your bag packed if it makes you feel better.” Thea offered with a shrug, gesturing to the duffel bag Raisa had put down next to the bed. “But for now, take a shower and take a good amount of sleep. I have a feeling we’ll both need it – however tomorrow morning end up for us.” she laughed slightly and Felicity just shook her head at that.  
“This isn’t funny, Thea!”

“I know,” she replied with an exhausted tone, “but there isn’t much that we can do about it right now, okay? You told Mom everything that happened, and she knows your adoptive family and the trouble you always had there… I don’t think she’ll send you back to them. Maybe she can help finding you a family here in Starling City? That way we could still see each other every day and even go to School together again!” Thea offered with a slightly excited voice, but Felicity wasn’t convinced.

“We’ll see what she has to say tomorrow morning.” Felicity frowned and got ready to jump under the shower. Thea made her way to her own room, leaving the connecting door between the two rooms open.

 

Felicity had never spent a night at the Queen Mansion before; when her step-family still lived here she was never allowed to stay out longer than until 7pm, not even on the weekends. So while she lay in the bed in the corner of the very spacious room with the very high ceilings and equally high windows, she felt slightly intimidated.  
“This room is so big.” Felicity whispered, which earned a giggle coming from the other room.  
“It feels like I’m drowning in it. How am I even supposed to sleep here?”

“Come on over!” Thea called out. “Just bring your own blanket!”

Felicity didn’t need to be told twice. She quickly hopped out of bed, grabbed the sheets and tip-toed over to Thea’s room. The girls got comfortable in the huge bed and after some more casual chatting, they both fell asleep quickly.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’d like to apologize in advance if the way I described adoption process in my story seems somewhat confusing. It is like this in Germany, and I do understand that Countries have very different laws regarding this, but I didn’t want to delay the Story any further by studying US laws for this topic, so I decided to stick with our german laws so I can finish this plot in the next Chapter and move on with my Story. :)
> 
> Other than that, enjoy this Chapter and please tell me what you think in the Comments! :)

The next morning both girls were woken up by Thea’s alarm.  
Felicity quickly slipped into her bathroom and took a quick shower while Thea got ready for school. Both girls arrived in the dining room in time, both being equally nervous as to what might come.

Moira and Robert were already sitting at the large table, waiting for the girls and Felicity felt her palms become sweaty. She wanted to run. Badly. Just run upstairs, grab her bag and then get the hell out of there.  
“Girls, don’t stand there, take a seat.” Moira offered with a smile when both Thea and Felicity stood in the doorway to the dining room for almost 2 minutes, unmoving.

They both slowly entered the room and took a seat next to each other at the table.  
“Good morning, Thea. Felicity, it’s so nice to see you here again.” Robert smiled at both of them while he offered each of them some coffee. Felicity gladly took one whereas Thea just shook her head. Caffeine would make her too nervous in the morning, but Felicity needed to occupy her hands so she wouldn’t tremble too much, so she gladly accepted the offered cup and wrapped her fingers around the coffee mug tightly.

When Moira spoke up, both girls’ heads shot around, facing the Queen matriarch.  
“Robert and I had a long discussion after you went to bed last night,” she started in a warm tone with a smile on her face. “I told him everything you told me yesterday and after that, we were discussing your options.”

Felicity’s eyes shot open at that. She had no idea what to expect, but she was scared as hell, nonetheless. To her it didn’t really feel as if she had options. Right now, the idea of storming out of the house was as present on her mind as it could ever be.  
“Felicity, I know you don’t want this, but we have to inform your step-parents and the Adoption Center about your current whereabouts, maybe even the Police. I will have Captain Lance come over later today and see what he thinks.”  
Felicity’s face completely drained from any color. Her fingers started shaking, no matter how tightly she held onto her mug and she could feel her eyes become watery. She desperately not wanted to cry in front of Thea’s parents, but with everything Moira told her, she knew she couldn’t hold back the tears much longer.

When Moira saw Felicity’s panicked and shocked expression and her shaking fingers, she gently leaned over the table and put her hand over her arm.  
“There’s no need to cry, dear.” she smiled at her. “Robert and I talked about this a long time last night… you are a lovely girl, Felicity; smart, intelligent, ambitious. Robert and I both think that with the right support you’ll have a great future ahead of you. And we both agree that your step-parents aren’t the right kind of support regarding this.” Moira smiled and Felicity actually had to look up at her, a small flicker of hope lighting up in her eyes.  
Moira’s voice and facial expression turned more serious after that, though.  
“However, you have been legally placed into that family many years ago, so you can’t just slip away from there and go your way. Especially not at your young age.”

This time it was Robert who spoke up again.  
“Moira had an idea that I think would be a good solution for everyone. We will talk to the Adoption Counselor and your step-family and will try to get you legally released from them. If everything works out in your favor, we would offer to serve as your foster family, if you’d wish to stay here with us, of course –“ Thea’s and Felicity’s heads shot up at that, a mixture of surprise and hope flashing in their eyes, “but under one condition.” Robert immediately threw in.  
When Felicity nodded quickly, Robert continued.  
“Moira and I expect your grades to be immaculate – both of your grades.” he addressed Thea. “We don’t want to hear about any misbehavior at school, any missed classes or reprimands of any kind. We expect you to behave impeccably at school and at home at all times. Our family – and house rules would apply for you just as much as for everyone else in this family. And I don’t think I have to mention that neither drugs of any kind nor alcohol are accepted in this household until you’re old enough to drink.” Robert spoke with a strong voice and Felicity couldn’t have turned her attention away from him, even if she’d tried to.

“Of course.” Felicity nodded quickly after clearing her throat and waited for either of the Queen heads to continue speaking.

“There might be, however, a small problem.” Moira suddenly announced and both girls’ heads whipped around again. To a stranger it could have looked like the girls were watching a Tennis match, tightly hanging on every word that either of the Queen heads spoke.  
“To take you into foster care, your step-family needs to release you.”

“What if they don’t want to do that?” Felicity asked with a shaky voice, almost too scared to hear the answer to that but Moira just gave her a warm smile and squeezed her arm. “Because I’m pretty sure that’s what’s going to happen.”

“Well, then we have to find arguments so they will.” Moira smiled confidently.

Thea and Felicity just stared at each other for a moment. Thea just shrugged slightly while Felicity tried to make sense of anything that Moira just told them.  
“Now, Thea… make sure you won’t be late for school. Felicity, I expect to see you at my office in an hour. Raisa will guide you if you have trouble finding the room.” Moira smiled at her and stood up to follow her husband out of the room. Thea and Felicity silently made their way upstairs to their rooms as well, both thinking about what Moira and Robert just had announced.

 

The urge to just grab her stuff and run was still evident for Felicity, but the fact that Moira offered her a place to stay in their family put her at ease at least a bit for the moment. Now it was just wait and see what the Adoption Counselor and most of all, her step-parents would say.  
To be honest, Felicity would have guessed her step-mother would at least be so smart and give the Queens a call after they found out Felicity ran away. They knew how close Felicity was both with Thea in Starling City and with Barry in Central City, so she at least expected them to call and ask if they knew about Felicity’s whereabouts. But maybe they weren’t even interested in her any more? That would be a good sign, she thought to herself, that way there shouldn’t occur any problems releasing Felicity into the care of the Queen Family.

 

Thea pulled her out of her thoughts with a smack on the shoulder. When Felicity shot her best friend a glare, Thea just grinned and waved today’s homework in her face. Felicity rolled her eyes and sat down to help Thea finishing her schoolwork last minute before school.

When the driver arrived and took Thea to school, Felicity made her way downstairs do Moira’s office. She didn’t see anyone in the large house besides Raisa who worked her magic in the kitchen already, preparing everything for Dinner later. For a moment, Felicity wondered if Oliver was still asleep or if she’d maybe meet him somewhere in the House later.

Just when she left the stairs and entered the long hallway leading to the West wing, a very sweaty Oliver entered the house through the glass doors from the back yard, breathing heavily, his sweaty shirt clinging to his body like a second skin. He wiped his face with the towel draped around his neck and gave her a small smile when he spotted her watching him. Felicity had no idea she had stopped walking and started staring at him instead. But when he caught her and waved his hand, she blushed heavily and looked away from him for a second. When Oliver stepped closer, she had to close her eyes for a moment and get her thoughts straight.

“I would have never pegged you for an early riser.” Felicity casually told him when he stopped in front of her with a smile. God, even his sweat smelled like pure sex. Could this man be more handsome? _‘Focus, Felicity!’_ she thought to herself, shaking her head.

Oliver watched her and cocked an eyebrow at her somewhat weird behavior.  
“I go on my morning run every day around 8. I need to keep in shape.” he winked at her.

“I noticed.”

Oliver’s eyebrows shot up slightly at that, grinning at her in surprise.  
“I said ‘not noticed’, right?” she immediately added, embarrassed at herself about the slip.

Oliver just shook his head with a laugh when he started walking towards the stairs. Felicity silently followed him. Just before he was about to head upstairs, Felicity stopped him.

“Uh… where’s your Mom’s office, again?”

Oliver smiled and pointed at down the long hallway.  
“3rd door on the left. You’re going to talk about the Adoption?”

“Yeah,” she nodded. “Your mother wants to call the Adoption Center and talk about getting me released from my step-family. We’ll see how this works out.” she shrugged, surprised at herself to sound so casual about it.

“And then? Will they find you a new family?” Oliver asked her with a curiosity in his voice that made her study him closely for a moment. Why did he sound so nervous and curious at the same time? Especially since it was only about her?

“Your Mom wants to take me into foster care here. But I’d say that’s easier said than done.” Felicity shrugged and Oliver’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.  
“So there’s a chance you can stay here with us? Uh, with Thea, I mean… That’s awesome!” he replied, sounding even more excited.

 

Felicity wasn’t so overly excited though. There were still way too many things that could ruin the apparently perfect plan, so she wasn’t expecting any positive outcome yet. Her duffel bag still sat in her room over all, ready to be grabbed if she needed to run. Life wasn’t exactly treating her the nicest way; Felicity had learned that the hard way at young age already. So she never kept her hopes up for something, she just waited how things played out.  
“Yeah, we’ll see about that. I should go now, don’t want to keep your mother waiting.” She gave him a forced smile and made her way down the hallway.

 

Oliver watched her walk away and thought about what she had told him. If his mother could really release Felicity from her family in Detroit and take her into his family, he would see her almost every day. They would even live door to door, sit together during Dinners or run into each other at the Pool. She would be in his personal space almost all the time and whenever he felt the need to see her, he could, and he wouldn’t even have to make sure no one saw him. Oliver caught himself thinking way more than appropriate about it before he shook his head and quickly made his way to his room. A cold shower should help him focus again.

 

Felicity knocked twice before she slowly opened the door to Moira’s office.  
The Queen matriarch smiled at her when she peeked her head through the door and waved her inside. Felicity took the seat opposite of the large wooden desk and Moira eyed her for a moment, keeping her hands neatly folded in front of her on the desk.  
“I already talked to Captain Lance this morning.” she started and Felicity felt her palms already become wet and sweaty.  
“He told me that there hasn’t been a nationwide search announced for your name yet, which is a good thing. Apparently your step-family still keeps their search locally around the Detroit-area. Since you’re under our care for now there’s no need to contact the Starling City Youth Welfare Office but we have to give the Adoption and Welfare Center in Las Vegas a call now nonetheless. I know you’re not happy with that, dear. And I know you’re certainly not happy with informing your adoptive family in Detroit, which we will be doing next, but this needs to be taken care of. I also need to inform them that you have been hiding in our garden shed for 2 weeks without our knowledge. There will be questions about your whereabouts and lying to them would only cause trouble none of us wants to deal with, believe me.” Moira smiled at Felicity who still sat completely frozen in the chair in front of the Queen head.

When Felicity could feel Moira expecting her to reply something, she could only nod. She wasn’t sure her throat would be working right now anyway, feeling too nervous and sick to her stomach.  
Moira quickly nodded back and picked up the phone from her desk. When she dialed the number and waited for the other party to pick up the line, Felicity felt like she was going to faint. 

As soon as Moira started speaking, though, Felicity’s head snapped up, her mind and ears on full attention.  
“Good morning, this is Moira Queen calling from Starling City. Am I speaking to Miss Chandler? … Great. I’d like to speak to you about Felicity Waller for a moment. – Yes, I do know she went missing from her adoptive family 2 weeks ago, in fact, that is why I am calling. Felicity is with us in Starling City. – Yes, she is fine. Apparently she had been hiding in our Garden Shed after for over a week until we found her. – Yes, of course. – That won’t be a problem, I’m sure. – Absolutely, Felicity will be our guest until further notice. She is very close friends with my daughter and is a well known guest in our house; we will take good care of her. – Alright, when can I expect to hear from you again? – Yes, of course, that will work. Thank you, Miss Chandler. – Oh that’s no big deal, Felicity has always been a welcomed guest in our house. – Okay, I’ll expect your call. Have a nice day.”  
And with that, Moira ended the call.

Felicity had started nervously bobbing her foot up and down and had to try very hard not to start biting her freshly manicured nails. Moira kept a polite smile on her face during the entire phone call and neither her expression nor the sentence-fragments that Felicity caught from the conversation could give any hint on how it might have went for her. When Moira saw the helpless and pained expression on the small brunette sitting opposite of her, she gave her a warm smile.  
Felicity didn’t have the voice to ask or say anything but apparently, her eyes spoke volumes.

“So that was your adoption counselor in Las Vegas.” Moira smiled at Felicity, who still felt on edge, too scared to hear that she might be sent back to Detroit. “She was very relieved to hear that you’re fine. Everyone is concerned about you in Detroit. Your adoptive family is very worried, they have been trying to find you for the entire time now.”  
At that, Felicity let out a nervous laugh, rolling her eyes at the irony of that statement.  
“Miss Chandler will inform your adoptive family and the local Police as we speak so the search warrant for you can be stopped and your adoptive family knows you are fine. As soon as she has spoken to them, she will give me a call and let me know all further details. Until then, she asked me to take care of you and make sure you won’t run away again, though I doubt I need to worry about that, am I right?” Moira asked her with a more serious tone and a facial expression that told Felicity she wasn’t going to tolerate any more stunts from her. Felicity could just nod, too afraid to tell Moira she still had her duffel bag packed and even talked to Thea about running away should they send her back to Detroit.

 

Moira kept Felicity engaged in a light conversation and made her answer some ordinary questions about how she spent her time in the Garden Shed until suddenly, the office phone started ringing.  
Taking a deep breath, Moira accepted the call with a grace that still fascinated Felicity.  
“Hello? Ah, Miss Chandler, I didn’t expect to hear from you again so soon. – Okay. – Okay. – Yes, that will work. – Actually, I would prefer if we could do that on neutral ground. Felicity expressed some serious differences between her and her adoptive family and I am afraid that taking her to Detroit would only deepen those and increase the possibility of her running away again. Would it be possible to meet here in Starling City, by any chance? Of course my family will cover all expenses for Hotel and Transportation. – Yes, of course. – Absolutely, I will have my secretary make all necessary reservations as soon as possible. – That sounds great. Please don’t hesitate to call me if anything comes up. – Yes, of course, Felicity is safe here and I will personally make sure she won’t get lost again.” Moira spoke into the phone but the look she shot Felicity spoke more than thousand words. Time for running was over. If she really wanted to have a chance at a better life, maybe even with the Queen Family, than she needed to trust Moira and stay, and hope that everything would turn out right with her adoptive family and the adoption center.  
“See you in 3 weeks then. Thanks for calling, Miss Chandler.” Moira smiled before ending the call.

 

“What did she say?” Felicity suddenly blurted out as soon as Moira put the phone back on the desk, unable to hold the words in any longer. She needed to know what Moira just heard.

Sending her another warm smile - _god, how could that woman smile so brightly in the shittiest of situations? Felicity had no idea._ , Moira spoke up.  
“Miss Chandler just talked to your adoptive family in Detroit over the phone. They immediately want you back in their home – obviously. Miss Chandler is going to schedule a meeting now, so everyone can sit down at a table together and clear things up. I figured since you ran away from Detroit, it would be a good idea to have that meeting here in Starling City instead of your adoptive family’s hometown.” Moira smiled at her and Felicity nodded frantically, hanging on every word the Queen matriarch spoke.  
“And it seems, luck might be on your side in this case.” Moira told her and Felicity was sure she even caught the tiniest bit of a smirk on the face of the Queen head. “Miss Chandler is out of country for her honeymoon for two weeks, starting tomorrow. And since she is your Adoption Counselor, she has to be present at that Meeting as well, now effectively pushing the date for the Meeting forward. Since your birthday is in 9 days, you will then be 16 when the Meeting takes place. That will make things a lot easier for us regarding the adoption rights. At 16 years of age you are legally allowed to decide for yourself - on most cases, at least, so you will have a say in the decision as well. Your adoptive family can’t simply force you to live with them anymore, something they would have had better chances at if you’d still be 15 years old during that Meeting. Actually, Robert and I tried to find a way to push the for that Meeting behind your birthday, so this turn of events make things a lot easier for us. Miss Chandler asked me to take care of you until then, which of course, we will do. The rest needs to be discussed as soon as the Meeting takes place.” Moira smiled and leaned back into her chair, waiting for Felicity to process everything and reply anything to that.

“So they will come here?” Felicity just nervously asked, her mind still on overdrive. Thinking about seeing her adoptive family here in Starling City, or seeing them again in general, made her gut wrench. Secretly, she had hoped she could avoid them over all during that process, but of course that wouldn’t be possible. But most of all, she was grateful for Moira scheduling the Meeting to Starling City. Felicity felt a lot safer and home here than in Detroit and Moira must have sensed that.

“Yes, they will come here. Along with your Adoptive Counselor and two other officials.” Moira smiled at her. “And until then, we have a lot to take care of as well.” Moira suddenly announced and Felicity tilted her head slightly in confusion.  
“Since the Meeting will be in two weeks and you are still required to go to School, we will talk to Captain Lance later and see if we can get you registered at Starling High again. If we can show the Adoption Counselor how well you are trying to accustom to your life here and that your grades are good as well, I am sure it’ll help with their decision. Besides, I can imagine sitting around, doing my daughter’s homework must be pretty boring for you, isn’t it?” Moira winked at her, forcing a sheepish smile and a blush out of the brunette girl.  
“You don’t have to look surprised, dear. Besides the contrary, I do pay attention to my children and their scholastic achievements. I was wondering how Thea’s grades could have improved so much over the last two weeks and as soon as I spotted you in our backyard, everything became a lot clearer.” she smiled. “But from now on, I expect each of you to take care of your own grades – especially you. I know you are a hardworking student, Felicity. Try and make the best impression to everyone in the coming weeks. The more people praise your behavior here in Starling City, the better the chances you can stay here.” Moira smiled before she got up from her chair, straightened out her dress and rounded the large wooden desk. Felicity got up as well and before she could stop herself, wrapped her arms around the well dressed, older woman standing in front of her. Moira had to take a step back, surprised at the sudden attack from Felicity, but quickly wrapped the young woman in a loose hug.

“Thank you.” Felicity whispered and Moira gently patted her head before she took a step back, forcing Felicity to loosen her grip.

“Let’s not rush anything, dear. There’s plenty of time to thank Robert and me when the Meeting is over and we were successful.” Moira told her with a calm voice.  
“Now, I need to talk to Captain Lance and also have some business calls to make. Why don’t you go and relax in your room for a bit, maybe start preparing your school stuff already.” Moira smiled and helped her to the door of her office.

“Can I go see the horses? I haven’t visited Castiel today, he probably misses me already.” Felicity nervously asked, surprised at herself about the politeness. With her adoptive family, she would have only announced she’d be off for a while and no one would have cared. But since the entire Queen family had been so attentive to her in the last 24 hours, it felt good to her to give something back.

Moira thought about that for a moment.  
“Yes, dear. But please remember, I am trusting you with this and this will be the only chance we can give you. If you are running away again, I am afraid we won’t be able to help you any longer. Just keep that in mind. Other than that, you can move around the property however you wish, of course. This isn’t a prison, after all.” Moira smiled and gave Felicity a last assuring nod before she closed the door to the office, leaving Felicity alone in the large hallway.

 

Back in her room, Felicity sat down on her bed and started thinking. All the new information were racing through her mind, giving her a slight headache. She was already very thankful for Moira’s help and couldn’t ignore the small flicker of hope that made its way into her head, but the rational part of her brain still told her to be cautious as well. Looking around the large room, she spotted her duffel bag peeking out under the mattress.

Running would be the easiest solution. She wouldn’t have to sit and wait for any decisions to be made about her. She wouldn’t have to go back to a family she wanted to get away from at all cost. Running would be a safe decision for her, she could decide for herself and wouldn’t have to trust and rely on other people’s kindness. But she’d need money again, at least a small amount. Since she spent most of her 55$ on food and the Tech books before she hopped the Greyhound bus to Starling City, she knew she’d have to find another way to get some money. Asking Thea or Oliver was completely out of the picture, so was stealing it from any of the Queens. She promised Moira not to disappoint her and intended to keep her promises. And with that, Felicity made a decision.

 

She slowly got up from the bed, reached for her duffel bag and opened it. She pulled out the neatly folded clothes that Raisa had put in the bag the night before and put them in the drawer next to the closet. After stuffing her used clothes into the hamper in the bathroom, she pulled out her Tech books and set them on the nightstand next to her bed. Her pink blanket went over the foot of the mattress and the empty duffel bag found its place in the corner of her closet. Looking around, taking in _‘her’_ room for the very first time, Felicity realized that indeed she could get used to living here. The opulence and lavishness of the Queen Mansion didn’t intimidate her any more; she got accustomed to that 2 years ago already, whenever Thea invited her over for studying.

 

The first time Felicity had entered the large building with the expensive Paintings and Art decorating every room, she felt completely overwhelmed. Before her parents died, she wasn’t living in poor conditions by all means, but still not as ostentatious as the Queens were living. After her parents’ death though, Felicity quickly learned what sharing a room and all your belongings meant and that ‘good living conditions’ was a very varying term describing a home. And the more time she spent with her adoptive family, in small old town houses, having to share her personal space with her brothers, the more she felt uneasy in bigger, more expensive and opulent homes – like the Queen Mansion.

After having spent her first night in the house, though, getting a first glimpse of the way the Queens behaved inside their homey walls, Felicity realized that living here didn’t seem to be as unimaginable for her as she always used to think.

 

But still it felt strange somehow, spending her first night in a room that was almost as big as the entire house in Detroit, sleeping in sheets that probably cost twice as much than her whole closet was worth. Now, with all her stuff decorating the room, making it a bit less intimidating and a little bit more personal, Felicity realized that she really could indeed get used to living there, especially with her best friend next door.

 

After spending an hour in her room, giving it a little personal touch, she decided to head downstairs and see if she could fetch an apple from Raisa and pay Castiel a visit. The elderly maid gave Felicity a warm smile as soon as she spotted her entering the kitchen.  
“Miss Felicity, can I help you with something?” she asked her with a broad smile that Felicity immediately reminded her of her mother. Donna had always smiled like that when Felicity came running into the kitchen, trying to persuade her mother to give her some candy before Dinner. The thoughts of her parents made Felicity frown for a moment. She hadn’t visited her parents’ grave once since their funeral. At first, her step-parents hadn’t allowed it, saying she was too young and the memories too fresh, then they started moving around and Felicity never got the chance to visit the grave. Making a mental note to catch up on that soon, she shook her head and pushed the thoughts away.

“Raisa, I wondered if I could steal an apple, maybe? I wanted to visit Castiel and I’m sure he’ll ignore me if I don’t bring any treats.” Felicity asked her and took a seat at the kitchen counter, watching Raisa chop the vegetables for today’s Dinner.

“Of course, Miss Felicity. There is a fruit bowl in the Dining Room. Please help yourself and take as much as you want.” Raisa smiled warmly at her before resuming her work.

Felicity nodded with a smile and was about to leave the kitchen, when she suddenly stopped shortly, turned on her heel and faced Raisa again.  
“Raisa? Can I ask you something?” she tentatively started.

Raisa put the knife aside, wiped her hands on the dishtowel and gave the brunette teenager in front of her a warm, but slightly confused smile.  
“Of course, Miss Felicity. Ask ahead.”

Felicity sat down at the kitchen counter again before she replied.  
“Mrs. Queen told me that it would be a good idea to engage in scholastic activities, that it would look good in front of the Adoption Board I’ll have to face in 3 weeks. I’ll be going to school again soon, hopefully, and I would like to do something on top of that in the afternoons, but I have no idea what. Do you have any suggestions?”

Raisa thought about that for a moment. She knew Felicity was a smart and diligent young woman that helped Thea improve her grades a lot when they were studying together.  
“What about tutoring lessons? Raisa offered. “I know you are very smart, Miss Felicity. And you already helped Thea get better grades in some of her classes. By giving tutoring lessons, you would have afternoon activities that would fill your schedule and you would help others. I am sure that the Adoption Board would be impressed with that.” Raisa spoke with a smile. “Or maybe go visit the Orphanage once or twice a week and spend time with the kids? My niece, Kasia, works there and I am sure she would love some help from a lovely young woman.” Raisa offered, but as soon as she saw the smile on Felicity’s face vanish, she started to backpedal.  
“Oh Miss Felicity, I am so sorry. I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable. This was a stupid idea, I am sorry.”

Felicity gave her a small smile and shook her head slightly. “No, it’s okay, Raisa. Actually, both of these ideas are great. Do you think you could get me your niece’s phone number? I think I can at least visit the Orphanage and then decide if it’s something I’d be comfortable with.”

“Of course. Let me finish preparing the food and I’ll make sure to leave the number on your desk in your room.”  
Felicity smiled and nodded at the older maid and made her way to the Dining room, stuffing two apples in her pocket before heading outside to the Horse stable.  
Spending time with Castiel would help her clear her mind a bit, and she could also kill the time until Thea would be back from school so she could fill in her best friend about everything that happened this morning.

 

 

The first official Dinner with the whole Queen family started with a weird feeling for Felicity, but she quickly got used to it.  
Moira informed her that Felicity would be starting school again the next morning. Apparently it helped that Moira and the School Principal were close friends. After hearing that Captain Lance had given his okay as well, Thea wrapped her arms around Felicity, happy that she could finally go back to school with her best friend again. Felicity was very happy about that, but nervous as well. She hadn’t been to school in more than 3 weeks and most of her old classmates probably didn’t recognize her any more after she had been gone for almost 5 months. Since she studied the school stuff from Thea in the last 2 weeks, she at least was up to date on the current curriculum at Starling High, but knowing she would have to go back to her former High School the next day made her anxious nonetheless.

 

The next evening, Dinner conversations were filled with information about Starling High and how everyone was happy seeing Felicity back at their School, especially the teachers. Felicity informed them that even at her first day back, she already found 3 girls that asked her for tutoring lessons. One of them even offered to pay her a few Dollars for each lesson, should her grades really improve, so Felicity was happy to accept. Moira smiled at Thea who once again took the lead in the conversation, and realized how much she missed vivid conversations over their rare family Dinners together. It seemed that even after 48 hours, Felicity had a positive impact on the family already, which made Moira smile warmly.

 

Just when Robert was about to ask Felicity about tutoring, it knocked at the door. Raisa left the Dining room in quick steps, ready to check on it when Robert resumed his conversation with Felicity.

Everyone at the table fell into an enjoyable silence after a moment, savoring the delicious meal Raisa had prepared, when suddenly, loud voices echoed through the hallway, making everyone look up in surprise.  
“Where is she?” a loud voice yells from the Foyer and immediately, Felicity flinches and freezes on the spot. Her fork shattered onto her plate, eyes fixed on the door opposite of her. Everyone except for Thea and Felicity get up from their chairs when the doors to the Dining Room suddenly burst open and a fuming Amanda Waller stormed inside, followed by her husband and a very overwhelmed looking Raisa.

“YOU!” Amanda announces, pointing an angry finger in Felicity’s direction while she closed the distance to the table in quick steps, completely ignoring the other people in the room, “you are coming home with us, NOW!” she yelled and if Oliver wouldn’t have stepped between her and Felicity, blocking her away from her fuming step-mother, she was sure Amanda would have jumped over the table and just pulled her away.

“Not. One. Step. Closer.” Oliver growled at the glaring woman in front of him in a low voice, making even Felicity shiver slightly.

Amanda stared at Oliver with hard eyes, clearly unimpressed with his growly voice. When she saw him clench his jaw, however, flexing his muscles and balling his hands to fists, she took a step back, waving her hands up in mocked surrender. Oliver looked at his parents who still stood frozen on the spot, and after seeing Moira nod slightly, he took a step to the side, giving Amanda the chance to talk to her step-daughter again without his large body between them.  
“This little vacation of yours? It’s over now. You are coming back with us.” Amanda blared at her step-daughter and Felicity sent a helpless and scared look first to Thea, then to Moira.

“No.” she firmly replied when she settled her eyes on her step-mother again, feeling the anger and hate for that woman once again bubble up to the surface.  
Amanda looked at Felicity with nothing but pure anger at the contradiction. Until that day, Felicity never dared to disagree with her mother or counter her decisions, but this wasn’t about Amanda any more. Felicity was finally allowed to make her own decisions now, and she sure as hell wouldn’t give that right back by going back to Detroit with that family.

“No??? What do you think this is, Felicity? Make a Wish? That wasn’t a question, that was an order, now obey!”

Just at that moment, Moira stepped forward.  
“Our home doesn’t have orders people have to obey. And since Felicity is our guest – legally covered, I might add – it is her own free choice whether she wants to go with you or not. Now, Felicity…would you like to accompany your step-family back to Detroit? I’ll have Raisa pack your bags for you then.” Moira asked Felicity, sending her an assuring smile and a tiny hint of a wink while she spoke.

“No, I would not.” Felicity firmly replied, staring her step-mother straight in the eyes.

Amanda switched from glaring at Felicity to glaring at Moira, who kept her patented Queen-smile on her face all the time. After looking over her shoulder for a moment, seeing an equally fuming husband waiting for her a few steps back, Amanda turned her attention back to Felicity.  
“You are going to regret this.” she spat, pointing her red-manicured finger straight at the brunette teenager sitting at the table.

“YOU are going to regret this if you don’t leave this House within the next 60 seconds.” Oliver suddenly stepped in again, taking a step closer to Amanda while he spoke.

 

Just at that moment, John Diggle, the head of Security, entered the room, quickly taking in the scene in front of him.  
“John, could you please help Mr. and Mrs. Waller to the door and make sure that they’ll safely find their way off the property, please?” Robert smiled at the imposing African-American man who just sent a hard look at both Amanda and her husband before he nodded. With a look that didn’t leave any room for objection, he expected both intruders to start moving.

“This isn’t over!” Amanda spat at Moira before walking to the hallway.

 

Nobody said anyone or moved a muscle until they heard the Main door click shut and saw John Diggle enter the Dining Room again.  
“All clear, Mr. Queen. Ben and Jerry are making sure they’ll leave the property. I also told Tom at the gate not to let anyone of them near the house again in the future. Robert nodded thankfully before he turned his attention to his wife again. Oliver had sat back down, but didn’t start eating again, nor did Thea of Felicity.

“Well, after this little incident I think some precautions are on order. Felicity, from now on you won’t leave school without Mister Diggle by your side. Same goes for your tutoring lessons, as far as they aren't at School. If you wish to go to the City, either Mister Diggle or one of our personal Drivers will take you there. After tonight’s Events, it seems likely that your step-mother would consider abducting you once you leave this House – and I’d like to make sure that won’t happen.” Moira told her with a calm, assuring voice.

Felicity only gulped and stared at the pairs of eyes on her, unable to reply anything. So she just nodded.

“I know you are probably not happy with this, but I am sure that you, just as much as we, don’t want to risk that this Meeting will be blown up early.”

Felicity immediately shook her head. “No, it’s okay. I mean, I get it. I knew my step-mother is pretty crazy, and I think that scene here a few minutes ago just proved that, so I’m actually happy to have someone following me around. Besides, it won’t be for long, so I think I can live with that.” she smiled at Moira and then gave John Diggle a small nod, earning one in reply.

“Well,” Moira spoke with a sigh after folding her napkin, looking over the table and the half eaten plates, “I assume Dinner is over. I need to inform Captain Lance over what just happened. Girls, if you want, Raisa can serve you some ice cream in the Movie room.” she smiled at Thea and Felicity and left the room, followed by Robert who stopped at Oliver’s chair and gave his son an approving pat on the shoulder for stepping out for Felicity earlier. Oliver just nodded and watched his parents leave the room.

 

Felicity got up and started following Thea out into the hallway, only to be stopped by a wrist on her hand. When she spun around in surprise, she almost crashed into Oliver’s chest in the process.  
“Hey… Are you okay?” he asked her in a low voice, leaning close to her ear in the process, closer than he would have needed.

Felicity inhaled deeply when she felt Oliver so close to her, his breath tickling the skin on her neck. After a gulp, she nodded and took a step back.  
“Yeah, I mean, I should have expected her to show up here at some point. She isn’t the type of woman that likes to be played around with and I think I upset her a bit by running away.” she smirked slightly but Oliver just stared at her with a straight face. Felicity had no idea what he was thinking, but his facial expression confused her.

“If you ever feel like someone’s following you, or if that woman makes another move, you call me, okay?” Oliver warned her and Felicity had to smile at his protective gesture. She blushed slightly and nodded with a smile before turning away from him, only to realize Thea was long gone already. She hadn’t been to the Movie room in over a year and the Queen Mansion was practically a labyrinth, so she turned back at Oliver, asking for his help. With a chuckle, he grabbed her hand and pulled her through the Mansion with quick steps. Felicity had to run to keep up with him, but she enjoyed the tingling feeling in her hand where her fingers were interlaced with his, even though it didn’t last long. As soon as they arrived at the Movie room, he let go of her hand. With a quick “Have fun!” Oliver was gone as fast as he had appeared in the hallway.

 

Felicity watched Oliver walk away until Thea called out for her. Raisa had already brought them two bowls of ice cream and Thea had picked an Adam Sandler movie when Felicity settled into the soft cushions of the couch.

The girls were laughing and giggling at the movie for almost half an hour, when suddenly, the door behind them burst open.  
“What are we watching?” the voice called out before opening the curtains and entering the room, followed by a grinning Oliver carrying two bowls of Popcorn.

“Tommy Merlyn!” Thea suddenly announced, jumping off the couch and Felicity’s head shot around in surprise. All the afternoons she had spent at Queen Mansion in the last 2 years, studying with Thea or just hanging out with her at the Pool or horse stable, she had never met Tommy Merlyn personally. Oliver’s best buddy had always been a regular guest at the Queen home, but still Felicity never caught more than a few distant glimpses of him when Oliver and Tommy were about to head out or just got back home. After what Thea had told her about Tommy all the time (and Felicity regularly mocked Thea on having a crush on Oliver’s best friend, something that Thea never denied but still always hated hear being said), Felicity always guessed he must be some kind of dark haired Suit - Model.

Now a handsome, dark haired, tall guy entered the room, with piercing grey eyes and a smirk that promised a lot of trouble and Felicity could see why Thea had a crush on him. He was really good looking, even though not her type at all, but the way Thea’s face reddened instantly, Felicity knew who’d be head over heels for him. She grinned slightly, seeing the younger Queen acting more nervous than she normally would.  
“Speedy!” he announced and wrapped Thea in a tight hug.

“And this lovely Lady must be Felicity.” he suddenly announced, turning his attention to Felicity who still sat on the couch, grinning at her blush-covered best friend.   
She didn’t expect for Tommy to know her name, or even speak to her directly, so she quickly got up from the couch and wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans before offering him a hand.  
“Hi.” she smiled and Tommy quickly grabbed her hand and placed a kiss on the back of her palm, making her blush.

“Oliver told me so much about you.” he hummed and Felicity’s eyebrows shot up, looking from Tommy to Oliver, who threw a handful of Popcorn at his best friend.   
“Of course only the nasty stuff.” he winked at her.

Felicity slowly pulled her hand out of his grip and took a step back to her spot on the couch.  
“Yeah, I’m sure Thea already told me more nasty stuff about you than Oliver could ever tell you about me. I don’t do nasty.” she winked before she sat down next to Thea.

“Oooooh, she’s fierce. I like her, buddy!” Tommy announced and plopped down on the last empty couch next to Thea, leaving the only free spot for Oliver on the couch next to Felicity. He hesitantly sat down next to her after handing Thea a bowl of Popcorn, placing the other securely between Felicity and him.

 _”Oh my, that’s gonna be a funny night.”_ Felicity mumbled to herself just when she grabbed a handful of Popcorn, grazing Oliver’s finger in the process. She blushed slightly at him and decided not to grab for any more Popcorn that night.

 

 

The rest of the week flew by in a whim.  
Felicity realized that having a full schedule again, filled with things she loved to do, was a lot more entertaining than spending half a day alone in a Garden Shed, waiting for anyone to company her for a while. It took her less than a day to get up to date with all the current curriculums and her tutoring lessons were going very well, too. In fact, she even had to turn down a few people already who had asked for help after school.

All teachers constantly told her how happy they were to see her back at Starling High and for the first time in many months, Felicity was truly happy with her life. School didn’t suck like it did in Detroit, she wasn’t the butt end of some jokes or bullying all the time and most of all, she was actually able to learn something.  
But being suddenly so engaged again also took a toll on her in the evenings. After school and tutoring and her own homework she rarely had the energy to do more than paying Castiel a short visit. After Dinner she usually spent an hour or two with Thea before tiredness got ahold of her and she fell to bed.

 

 

Early on Saturday morning, Felicity was the first one of the Queen siblings to be awake. Thea was still fast asleep after she had to chase after her horse for almost two hours the night before when the brown stallion decided to jump the fence and go for a walk in the woods alone. Felicity just giggled and wished her best friend good luck while she relaxed into the lounge chair, burying her nose in one of her Tech books. So it didn’t surprise her that Thea wasn’t up yet.

Putting on some Sweatpants and a Hoodie, Felicity made her way downstairs to the Dining room. The house was still deadly quiet, not even sounds from Raisa in the kitchen could be heard. Felicity quickly grabbed two apples and slipped out the back door to the Horse Stables. The white stallion was the first she wanted to see at this special day.

After feeding Castiel the apples and petting him for a few minutes, Felicity let the horses out in the pasture and watched them grazing for a moment. With a content smile on her face, she was about to head back to the Mansion, when suddenly Oliver appeared beside her, clothed in his running gear, all sweaty and breathing a bit faster than usual.

He walked over to her and had a grin on his face that Felicity couldn’t clearly decipher.  
“Happy birthday.” he suddenly smiled at her and handed her a small purple box with a bright pink bow that he kept hidden behind his back when he walked over to her.

Felicity stared at his outstretched palm for a moment before she looked up at him again, completely surprised that Oliver remembered her birthday and even got her a present.  
“What’s this?”

“Well you will never know if you won’t open it.” he chuckled. Felicity hesitantly took the box from his hand and started removing the bow. “I just figured since you had a pretty crappy time until you got here, a small present would be a nice idea.” he spoke while Felicity slowly unboxed her present.

After she removed the lid of the box and pulled out a white braided bracelet with a small metal charm shaped like a horse hanging in the middle, she looked up at him in shock.  
“Oliver I… I can’t take this. Really, I can’t.” she tried to put the bracelet back in the box and hand it back to him but Oliver stopped her.

“That’s too sad because I can’t return it. I had it custom made for you.” he smiled at her.

If she could, she would have looked even more shocked at that moment.  
“One of my buddy’s girlfriends is making jewelry. The bracelet is made from real horses’ hair. Castiel’s hair, in this case.” he explained, nodding to the white stallion grazing in the pasture behind them and Felicity immediately took the bracelet in her hand again and let her fingers slide over the soft braids.

“It’s absolutely beautiful,” she mumbled and couldn’t take her eyes off it.  
“Wait,” she suddenly looked up at him, gesturing to the bracelet in her palm with her other hand, “if this is made from Castiel’s hair… how did you get hair from him? He would never let you touch him, let alone cut off some of his tail.”

“And I would never try to touch him, trust me.” Oliver laughed. “I had a little help from Thea.”

Felicity stared at him in shock and fascination before looking down at the bracelet in her palm again.  
“Oliver, I – “ she began and was about to shake her head when Oliver took the bracelet from her hand.

“Let me?” he gently asked her and opened the snap of it before he wrapped it around her wrist and gently closed the snap again. He turned her palm upwards and watched Felicity inspect the tiny horse charm dangling from it.  
“I’m glad it fits. I had to guess your wrist size but it seems to fit just fine.”

“It’s perfect.” she whispered, never taking her eyes off it.  
“Thank you.” she suddenly blurted out before she practically jumped into his arms and wrapped herself in a hug around him. “This is the best present I have ever received. I love it.” she mumbled into his sweaty shirt while she pressed herself tighter onto his chest.

Oliver stood frozen on the spot for a moment, feeling to overwhelmed and surprised at the young brunette clinging to him, hugging him tightly with her short arms. After a few seconds though he relaxed and gently patted her back twice, too hesitant to hug her back.

When she loosened her grip on him and let go, they both took an awkward step back from each other, Felicity nervously clearing her throat. Oliver put his hands in his pockets and started shifting from foot to foot, an awkward silence suddenly hanging between them.  
“I uh… well I gotta go now. I just wanted to drop this off since I saw you at the stable. Have a nice day, Felicity” Oliver smiled shyly before he quickly turned on his heel and left for the Mansion with quick steps.

 

Once he entered the Mansion and stepped into the hallway, he stopped for a moment to think. Felicity jumping into his arms and wrapping herself around him felt great, but he was also happy that she loved his present so much. Looking back outside to the backyard, Oliver sighed for a moment. He would love to go back there and pull her into a hug again, maybe even pull her up into his arms and carry her over to the Garden Shed where he could –  
Crap. “I’m so deeply in trouble.” he mumbled to himself before he shook the forbidden thoughts of him and Thea’s best friend out of his mind and made his way over to his room. He needed to take a shower and clear his mind. And get Tommy on the line so they could spend the day together and get his thoughts off Felicity for a moment.

 

Continuously playing with the horse charm on her bracelet, Felicity made her way into the Mansion again. She waited longer than she intended to before going back in, making sure she wouldn’t cross paths with Oliver again. His sweaty scent still clung to her clothes after she practically jumped into his arms and it wasn’t the only thing that gave her a hard time thinking straight. The incredible present that he got her was by far the most amazing thing she had ever gotten for a birthday.

As soon as she entered the hallway, Moira came down the stairs.  
“Felicity, dear! Happy birthday!” the Queen head announced and pulled the small brunette in a loose hug, surprising Felicity. Moira rarely went for physical contact, so Felicity didn’t exactly knew how to react.  
“ I have something for you, follow me.” she smiled and Felicity could only nod and obey. After taking in Moira’s elegant dress and her perfectly styled hair, she felt bad for a moment, running around in Pants, an old Sweatshirt and her running shoes. But as soon as Moira entered the Living room and grabbed a delicate white present from the table, all thoughts about appropriate clothing were thrown out of the window for Felicity. She could only stare wide eyed at the present that Moira offered her with a smile. Felicity slowly took the package out of Moira’s hands and opened the lid. As soon as she spotted a brand new Mac Book in it, she looked at the Queen matriarch in shock.  
“Robert and I figured you’d need your own Laptop so you wouldn’t have to borrow Thea’s all the time.” Moira smiled at her. “Besides, you are doing so well at School that we felt it was a good way to reward you. I am sure this will help you with tutoring as well.” Moira added and Felicity felt tears pricking in her eyes.  
“Oh don’t cry, dear. It’s your birthday, after all. This is a day to celebrate.” she told Felicity, squeezing her arm in assurance. “Raisa will bring a birthday breakfast over to your room. Robert and I need to leave to the office for a business meeting, though. But I’ll promise to celebrate some more this evening. Enjoy your day, dear.” Moira smiled and pulled her in a quick hug again before leaving her alone with her present in the living room.

 

Thea was the next to congratulate her. At that point Felicity already felt spoiled rotten by the Queen family and didn’t expect any of the presents she had gotten so far. Ever since her parents passed away, she didn’t receive any more presents for birthday. At the Orphanage, she always got a little cake and her adoptive family didn’t bother celebrating her birthday at all, so after more than 10 years, the presents she received from the Queen family were the very first ones she got for her birthday.

Thea jumped into her arms and almost tackled her to the ground before she handed her a small box and Felicity wondered for a moment what could be inside.  
Opening the lid of the box, a delicate, bright pink tablet came to life. Felicity immediately pulled it out of the box and started inspecting it.  
“I figured since you were reading all these e-books on my Laptop, your own tablet would be a cool idea.” Thea squealed and Felicity could only throw her arms around the petite brunette standing in front of her, wrapping her in a tight hug.

“Thank you, Thea. Really… this is the most amazing birthday I have ever had. I feel so spoiled.”

 

The girls spent their morning over breakfast in Felicity’s room and whenever her phone wasn’t interrupting their conversation, Thea excitedly told her about all the birthday traditions they would have to invent for Felicity’s special day.  
Felicity only laughed at Thea’s beaming expression and eagerly agreed, ready to face the day full of Events, all thoroughly planned out by none other than Thea Queen.

 

 

The following week had started normally. Felicity fell into an easy routine, waiting for her bodyguard to pick her up from school. Whenever Thea had a different schedule and Felicity had no one to engage in conversations about the newest Tech stuff, she usually kept grilling John Diggle about his private life beside his job protecting the Queens. She quickly became friends with the rather quiet, but very gentle bodyguard and enjoyed being driven around by him.

The tutoring lessons went smoothly as well. So well, that Felicity could even squeeze a fourth person into her list. Two of them, or rather the parents of them, were paying her weekly for her services, and Felicity stored away all the money she earned, planning to put them onto a bank account any time soon. By now she had already made 50 bucks and was very happy about her part-time-job.

Amanda Waller or her husband never made another appearance though both Moira and Felicity expected her to. Felicity couldn’t fully shake the feeling being watched from time to time, but since John Diggle or one of his bodyguards was by her side almost all the time, she felt safe and quickly dismissed the feeling again.   
The closer the Date for the Meeting came though, the more nervous Felicity got.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had quite a few people asking if I have a schedule for this Story. Truth is, even if I'd set up a schedule and say I'll try and publish a Chapter every Wednesday, I would probably fail the very first week. I only have time to write in the late evenings and since I'm currently writing on 3 different Stories at the same time, plus doing prep work for NaNoWriMo, I can't guarantee any dates on to when I'll post another Chapter.  
> BUT I will at least try and post one at least every 7 - 10 days, which has worked fine so far for this Story, so... :D
> 
> Here's the next Chapter, enjoy!

The morning of the Meeting Felicity was awake hours earlier. She wasn’t able to get any good amount of sleep that night, even after she downed one of Raisa’s sleeping pills. So to calm herself, she took a shower early, followed by almost two hours of picking up the right outfit for the day. Since Felicity’s closet was still very sparse, Thea generously offered hers. Feeling overwhelmed by all the Shirts and blouses, Thea took the lead, making sure to create her the most “responsible and capable – looking outfit”.  
An hour later, Felicity found herself dressed in a loose black knee-length skirt, paired with a royal blue blouse and black 2 inch heels that straightened her body but weren’t too high to be inappropriate for her age and the occasion. Her slight curls were pinned to a half updo, looking elegant yet casual.

Once Felicity checked herself in the mirror, she realized she had never looked that elegant and well dressed before. In fact, Felicity didn’t even own a skirt at all and couldn’t remember wearing one in the past before. But seeing herself in the floor length mirror, even though she felt totally overdressed, Felicity realized that she indeed looked responsible and capable.

Thea followed closely when Felicity made her way downstairs to the Foyer where Robert and Moira already waited for her.  
“You look great, dear.” Moira greeted her with a smile. “Ready?”  
“As ready as I can ever be.” Felicity sighed and hugged Thea goodbye before following Robert and Moira out the door, leaving Thea alone to get ready for school.

 

When they were seated in the Limo and headed for the City, Moira gave Felicity an assuring smile.  
“Miss Chandler will be waiting for us at Queen Consolidated. As soon as we have picked her up, you’ll have the chance to talk to her for a few minutes before we’ll head upstairs to the Congress Room where your step-family as well as our lawyers and Captain Lance will await us. Relax, everything’s going to be fine, dear.” Moira smiled at her and Felicity could see the honesty in her eyes. Robert remained silent throughout the entire drive to Queen Consolidated but gave her a small smile as well.

As soon as they stepped into the Foyer, Felicity spotted her Adoption Counselor waiting for them at the main desk. The woman looked a little older than what Felicity remembered of her, but the bright red curls remained the same. Felicity remembered calling her Merida when she arrived at the Orphanage years ago, because she couldn’t remember Miss Chandlers name and because the woman always reminded her of the Disney figure she loved as a child. With a smile plastered onto their faces, everyone made their way over to the waiting woman.  
After Moira and Robert introduced themselves, Miss Chandler got a first good look at Felicity, who stood nervously next to Moira.  
“Felicity, it is so nice to see you again after all these years! You look fantastic!” Miss Chandler smiled at her but Felicity was too nervous to reply anything besides a small “Thank you.”

After the Adoption Counselor filled them in on all the details and how the general process of the Meeting should go, they headed for the elevator to the Executive Level and made their way up.  
Upon entering the Congress Room, Felicity immediately spotted her step-parents sitting on the far end of the table, next to a police officer that Felicity guessed would be Captain Lance, and 2 suited men that appeared to be the lawyers Moira had talked about. Felicity tried hard to ignore the angry glare that her step-mother shot her, focusing on the Adoption Counselor who took a seat next to her.

After introductions had been made and everyone took a seat at the table, Miss Chandler spoke up, turning her attention solely on Felicity.

The Adoption Counselor made her explain the reasons behind her elopement and had her explain every nitty detail about her trip to Starling City. Felicity made sure to leave Oliver and Thea’s help out of the Story so she wouldn’t cause them any trouble and told them about hiding in the Garden Shed at the Queen property for over a week until Moira found her.

The lawyers were taking notes of everything that had been said while Amanda Waller looked even more furious the more Felicity said. She was glad a Police officer was with them in the room, otherwise she was sure Amanda would have jumped over the table and strangled her by now.

“Felicity, from what you explained, I take it you don’t wish to live with your adoptive family any longer, Is that correct?” Miss Chandler asked her directly, sending her a warm smile.

Felicity took a deep breath before answering.  
“Yes.” she replied with a firm voice, keeping her attention fully on the woman sitting next to her.  
Miss Chandler just smiled and nodded slightly.  
“I see. Do you have a preference where to live instead?”

Well, good question. Felicity knew where she _wanted_ to live, but could she bluntly tell the people that she wanted to stay with the Queens? They had offered to take her into foster care after all, but putting that out on the table in front of all the strangers felt too overwhelming to her.  
She shot Moira and Robert a helpless look before Miss Chandler picked up the conversation again.  
“You have been living with the Queen Family in the last 3 weeks, is that correct?”

Felicity nodded and cleared her throat. “Yes.”

“Do you want to stay with the Queen Family?” she asked her and Felicity could only nod again, earning an angry huff from Amanda Waller.

Just when her step-mother was about to loudly express her anger and disapproval, Moira Queen spoke up.  
“We don’t want to adopt Felicity, that’s not what we nor Felicity have in mind. Robert and I would rather take place as her foster family until she is old enough to live on her own and make her own legal decisions.” Moira announced and both the Waller family and the Adoption counselor looked at her in surprise.  
Amanda Waller was about to protest again, when Moira continued speaking. “Felicity is 16 years old and she has been a daily guest in our house for well over 2 years now. She knows my Family and my Family knows her. Both her and my daughter’s grades have always been immaculate and I’m sure you’ll agree with me when I say there’s no reason to object in making sure a young girl has a good shot at a promising future. And me and my family can ensure that to her.” Moira smiled and addressed the Adoption counselor while she spoke.

“This is the biggest bullshit ever!” Amanda Waller suddenly yelled out from the far end of the table. “We didn’t adopt Felicity and brought her into our family to just let her go after 10 years! Felicity is our daughter and I expect her to come home with us and end all this nonsense going on here immediately! If you wish to take a kid into foster care, Misses Queen, then I’m sure there are plenty of children waiting to be adopted in your local Orphanage.” Amanda spat at Moira. Felicity just quickly looked over at her step-mother before she focused her eyes on Moira, too curious and nervous how she might respond to that.

Moira though, completely unimpressed by the woman yelling at her, kept her attention solely on the Adoption Counselor.  
“Felicity has been engaged in various scholastic activities since she started going to Starling High again. She is also tutoring multiple students after school and her teachers have nothing but great words for her. I am sure you’ll agree with me that taking her out of that environment by placing her at school in Detroit again wouldn’t help or improve Felicity’s situation in any form.”

“Bullshit! Your High School isn’t any better than any other High School in this country. If Felicity wants to, she could easily find students to tutor in Detroit as well. Your arguments are completely pointless!” Amanda yelled while getting up from her chair, waving an angry finger in Moira’s direction while she spoke.

“Mrs. Waller, please mind your tone and sit down again.”  
It was the first time Felicity heard Captain Lance speaking. His voice sounded firm and combined with his hard stare, Amanda huffed slightly and sat down on her chair again. Felicity immediately liked him for his ability to control her step-mothers temper so amazingly quick.

Suddenly Robert Queen joined in on the conversation.  
“We’d also like to point out that Mrs. Waller entered our home last week, unannounced, and stormed into our Dining Room, forcibly trying to make Felicity come with her to Detroit. Had it not been for our son Oliver, we would have had to call the police to have them removed from our property. We assume Mrs. Waller tried to take Felicity to Detroit before her 16th birthday, so this Meeting wouldn’t have to take place and the Waller family wouldn’t have to fear losing their Adoption rights regarding Felicity.”

Miss Chandler’s eyebrows shot up in surprise at that announcement and after watching Robert and Moira for a moment, she looked over the table at the Wallers, clearly expecting some form of explanation. Amanda Waller only crossed her arms over her chest but didn’t say anything. Captain Lance however, did.  
“That is true. Mrs. Queen gave me a call right after the incident happened. Apparently, Mrs. Waller and her husband got themselves access to the Queen property and interrupted the family Dinner by overpowering the maid at the door and storming into the Dining Room. Oliver Queen had to stop Mrs. Waller from actively reaching out for Felicity. I have talked to both the maid and Oliver Queen and they both confirmed the incident.”

Miss Chandler listened closely to what Captain Lance told her and scribbled down a few notes before looking through her papers.  
“I see...” she began and Felicity felt herself tense up, scared to hear what the Adoption Counselor might announce next. “Well, your grades really are impeccable, Felicity, and your teachers were so friendly to forward me your tutoring schedule which is quite impressive, I must say. Since you expressed the wish not to stay with the Waller family any longer and I can sense a high amount of irreconcilable differences between you and your adoptive family, I think it will be in everyone’s best interest to release you from the Adoption contracts with the Waller family.”

Low mumbling sounds erupted as soon as Miss Chandler stopped speaking. Amanda Waller was about to protest loudly when the Adoption Counselor spoke up again, directly addressing Moira and Robert Queen this time.  
“Mrs. Queen, since you expressed the wish to take Felicity into foster care for the next 2 years and Felicity voiced her approval, I think it would be best to schedule a date with our lawyers to finalize details about this.”

Moira nodded with a short smile and gave Felicity an assuring nod while Miss Chandler looked up at Amanda Waller.

“Now, Mrs. Waller, I do understand your frustration, but please understand that with Felicity so highly expressing her wish to be released from your family, coupled with the fact that I am aware of certain ‘incidents’ regarding our orphan’s safety, I am sure you will agree with me that it is in everyone’s best interest to release her from your family. As Felicity’s adoption counselor I have to make sure she is in the best hands at all times and feels safe and cherished in her family. And I am sure you’ll agree with me that we don’t want to put Felicity in a position again where she sees running away as the only option. Therefore, I think it is in everyone’s best interest to annul the adoption contract. Any objections?” she smiled and addressed the lawyers and Captain Lance who all shook their heads with a smile.

“Perfect,” she turned her attention to Felicity and smiled warmly before she looked at Moira and Robert again. “Mrs. Queen, we need to set up a Date to discuss all further details regarding the foster care. I will have my assistant set up an appointment for as soon as possible. Until then, Felicity will remain in your care – if she wishes to.”

“Yes, please.” Felicity immediately replied and realized that through the entire conversation, she had barely spoken a word.

“Alright. Mrs. Waller, Mr. Waller, please wait for me in the Foyer. I need to talk to Mr. and Mrs. Queen in private for a minute.” she firmly spoke over the table and Felicity watched a fuming but completely baffled Amanda get up from her chair and storming out of the office. Captain Lance also excused himself after a handshake and nod in Moira’s direction. The Queen lawyers shared a few words with Miss Chandler before they also left the room, leaving Felicity alone with the Adoption Counselor and Moira and Robert Queen. She nervously fidgeted with the hem of her skirt before she looked at Miss Chandler and spoke up.

“Do I… uhm, do I have to leave the office as well?”

“No, dear. This is about you after all.” the Adoption counselor smiled back at her.

Moira and Robert sat back on the table opposite of Felicity and the adoption counselor.  
“Miss Chandler, I have to say, you decided fairly quickly. I expected this to take a lot longer, to be honest.” Moira suddenly spoke up and worded out exactly what Felicity had on her mind. Miss Chandler smiled and relaxed visibly into the conversation after the officials and the Waller family had left the room.

“Well, Mrs. Queen, for one, Felicity is the person we are most concerned about. And if a young woman runs away from her home, traveling through the entire country all on her own, only to get away from her adoptive family, then I’m sure we’ll all agree that something is very wrong in that family. Then there was the incident with Mr. and Mrs. Waller forcefully entering your home a few days ago. That surely didn’t play into their hands today. On top of that, we already suspected the Waller family treating Felicity not like we expect two adults treat their adoptive child.” Miss Chandler said and shot Felicity a short glance over her shoulder. Felicity’s eyebrows shot up, wondering what the Adoption counselor could be talking about.  
“We received a call from the Detroit Police Department, shortly after you went missing. Apparently one of your neighbors, a – “ she started digging through her notes and papers until she found what she was looking for, “Matt Greenbaum called the Police, reporting he heard screams and shouts and what appeared to be a fight between you and your adoptive mother coming from your house.”

Felicity’s whole body froze in shock. Never had she expected to hear Matt’s name again, let alone be told that he called the Police after he must have heard Amanda yelling at her step-daughter in the kitchen that day. She didn’t even know his last name until that moment, but was immediately incredibly thankful for his help.  
“And we know this isn’t the first incident of that sort, am I right, Felicity?” she asked the brunette woman with a warm, but confident smile that told her she indeed knew of more incidents between her and her step-family from the past, though Felicity had no idea how she got these information.  
“That made the decision fairly easy for me. Actually, I planned taking Felicity out of that family for a while now, but since that would only be possible if another family offered to take her into care, I never had the chance to. Luckily, you came into this young lady’s life.” Miss Chandler smiled warmly at Moira and received an equally honest and warm smile in return.

“Felicity is already like a daughter to us, we couldn’t let her go again, even if we had to.” Moira spoke up, looking straight at Felicity while she spoke to the counselor and for the first time in more than 10 years, Felicity felt something like a motherly love radiating from the elegant woman sitting opposite of her.

 

Together they discussed a few more details and set up an appointment for the next week to finalize all contracts and information. After Miss Chandler shook hands with Moira and Robert and hugged Felicity goodbye, they watched the Adoption Counselor leave for the elevators before they faced each other again. A wide grin spread over Felicity’s face and she couldn’t hold back her excitement any longer.  
“So that’s it? I’m really released and free from that family?” she excitedly asked Moira who laughed and smiled slightly at her.

“Well, like I said, I’m surprised the counselor decided so quickly, but I think so, yes.” she nodded.

“Most of that was your doing though, Felicity.” Robert piped in. “Miss Chandler seemed very impressed with your grades and your overall diligence. You can be proud of yourself.” he smiled slightly. “But I do expect your behavior to stay that way, young lady.” he added with a warning finger but a grin on his face. Felicity only laughed slightly and nodded.

 

Felicity had to wait another 30 minutes before she could sneak into the restroom and send Thea a short text. Luckily she had muted her phone before they arrived at Queen Consolidated because as soon as she unlocked her screen, 15 text messages and 2 missed calls from Thea flashed up on her screen. Felicity only shook her head with a laugh, sending Thea only a thumb up in a short text message. It took only 5 seconds until Felicity’s phone started ringing and Thea’s face flashed up on the screen and after Felicity gave her a very short version of what happened and promised to tell every little detail as soon as they were back home, Thea reluctantly ended the call and promised to focus on school for the rest of the day.

 

Moira and Robert needed to excuse themselves shortly after the Meeting and John Diggle made sure that Felicity safely arrived back at the Mansion. As soon as she stepped inside and rushed upstairs to change into her riding pants and spend some hours with Castiel, she ran face first into Oliver’s heavy chest.

“Whoa… hey!” he smiled at her as soon as he spotted her beaming smile and bubbly behavior. “You’re smiling.”  
Felicity just nodded and grinned at him.

“So your Meeting went well?”  
That earned him another nod.

“So what now? Do I have another sister now?” he joked and Felicity laughed at that.

“God no, I do not need a brother like you.” she laughed at him.

“What is that even supposed to mean?” he half mocked at her, slightly confused. But if he had to admit, he was happy Felicity wouldn’t be ‘officially’ his sister. No matter how he thought about her, he couldn’t deny himself the wish to make a move on her… someday… maybe. So he was happy she would be staying in his family, but wouldn’t be a lawfully, official part of it.

“That means I could imagine you being better things than being my brother.” she smirked and winked at him before she sprinted up the stairs to her room with a big grin on her face, never looking back at Oliver who stood in the hallway, completely dumbfounded by Felicity’s comment. If he could flirt with her and send her ambivalent comments, she could do so, too. _‘Always give as good as you get, Felicity.’_ she thought to herself and quickly changed into her riding gear.  
Thea would still be out for another few hours, so Felicity had plenty of time to spend with her favorite horse.

After packing a light bag with a few apples, a granola bar and a bottle of water, she mounted the white stallion and started her trail into the woods. Today was the perfect day to enjoy the weather and fully relax in her skin. The adoption would be annulled, the Queens would take her into foster care, her grades were fine and she even earned a bit of money with the tutoring lessons. Thinking about everything that happened in the last 4 weeks, Felicity felt like she could fully enjoy her life for the first time in more than 10 years, since the day her parents passed away.

 

 

The following weeks passed by in a whim. After Miss Chandler paid them a visit and admired the opulent Mansion with all the expensive Art, Moira and Robert signed the final papers that would take Felicity officially into foster care with the Queens. Miss Chandler explained that the Queens have to treat Felicity like their own daughter and that all ruled that would apply with a regular adoption would apply with the foster care as well, but Felicity didn’t even have to listen to that. She knew the Queens would always treat her as a daughter and Felicity already felt loved and cherished in that family. Sure, there were rules to follow, but since she always had very little freedom in her adoptive family, Felicity was used to obeying rules. And it wasn’t that the Queens asked much from her. So after a very short amount of time, Felicity felt fully introduced into her new family again and for the first time in her 16 years of age, she felt what a true family could mean.

 

 

** 2 months later **

Thea’s 16th birthday was around the corner and Felicity had no idea what to get for her friend. Since Thea basically owned everything she wanted, or could get everything on her own, Felicity was at a loss for ideas. So she asked the first person for help that came to her mind – Oliver.  
Hesitantly knocking on his door, she waited for him to respond on the other side of the door. After what sounded like the rustling of sheets, she heard a raspy “Yeah?”.

She slowly opened the door and peeked her head inside. Oliver sat in bed, looking slightly rumpled and disheveled. Felicity loved it. He wiped his eyes and looked at her for a moment.  
“I’m sorry, did I wake you?” she shyly asked him, trying hard not to stare at his shirtless, firm chest for too long.

Oliver grabbed his phone from the nightstand and checked for the time. He rubbed his face and again and gave her a small smile.  
“It’s fine. I need to leave for College soon, anyway. What`s up? And why are you still standing in the hallway? Come in!”

Felicity smiled shyly and slowly entered his room. She had only been in it once in the past but didn’t have the chance to fully take a look back then. Now that the sun peeked through the half closed curtains, she could see the large, dark wooden 4-poster bed at the far wall of the room, the fireplace, his desk and the walk-in closet with the slightly ajar door. Trying hard not to stare around the room, she looked down for a moment, clearing her throat, before looking up again. When she stepped inside, she had made sure to keep a good distance to him still sitting shirtless under the sheets, and as soon as she got a good look at his adorable sleep-ridden face and his tired smile, she was glad for every inch of space between them, making sure she wouldn’t jump him that second.

“I uh… Thea’s birthday is coming up soon.”  
It came out more like a statement than a question, but apparently, Oliver could follow her so far, so she didn’t care to correct herself. He nodded shortly, not yet able to see where the conversation was heading, though.  
“Well, and normally I’m really creative when it comes to gifts or presents, I’m completely and utterly out of ideas when it comes to Thea. So I guessed that maybe… maybe you had an idea what I could get for her?” she smiled shyly, biting her lower lip in the process.

Oliver studied her for a second, thinking about what she asked of him. Truth was, if Felicity wouldn’t have reminded him of Thea’s birthday, he probably would have forgotten and then would have had to purchase a crappy last minute gift.  
He laughed slightly. “That’s a shame, because I don’t have an idea either…” Oliver told her with a shrug in his still slightly raspy, sleepy voice.

Felicity’s mouth formed a surprised ‘Oh’ at his statement and he thought if she could get any cuter, it would have been that moment.

“Mom wants to get her a BMW Convertible for birthday. Maybe you could get her something funny for the car?” he offered with another shrug, obviously as out of ideas as she was.

Felicity thought about that for a moment. Since it seemed to be pretty much the only idea for a present for the moment, she shrugged and nodded, her brain already trying to find a cool gift for the car.  
As soon as she realized she was standing in his room for several minutes, unmoving and deep in thoughts, she nervously cleared her throat and took a step back towards the door. Oliver gave her a sheepish grin that she couldn’t fully decipher, so she gave him a small, shy smile in return.  
“Alright, that’s all. I gotta go. Bye!” she babbled and basically ran out the door.

“Let me know if you come up with an idea so I don’t have to find one myself! He yelled after her with a laugh, but with the speed Felicity balked out of his room, she was probably at her own already.

 

They ended up getting Thea a new set of wheels for birthday and after Felicity picked out the design, Oliver wanted to pay for the wheels on his own, earning loud disapproval and an angry glare from the tiny brunette next to him.

“Girlfriends can be scary sometimes, right?” the clerk at the BMW Dealer told him with a wink when he was about to pay for the wheels. Felicity was checking out the cars on display a few feet away and ignored Oliver after their little argument over sharing the costs for the wheels. Felicity ended up paying for the wheel caps and Oliver paid for the wheels itself.

“Oh, she isn’t – “ Oliver began and looked behind to where the clerk motioned, Felicity slowly opening the door of a dark blue BMW Convertible before letting her hands roam over the soft brown leather in awe. He smiled at the sight in front of him before he turned back around, not caring to correct the woman. “Yeah, she can be scary, but most of the time she’s just adorable and lovely.” he smiled at the elderly woman before handing her his Black Credit Card.

 

Thea’s 16th birthday had been a huge Pool Party. Even though it was already mid-September, Thea insisted on having a Hawaii – themed birthday. And since flower necklaces and bikinis were mandatory and a lot of skin would be on display, Thea announced she needed to go shopping. Felicity happily accompanied her best friend since she herself was in dire need of a new Bikini. The only plain black one that she owned was worn out already and her breasts somehow had grown out of it as well.

 

\----------------------

Shortly after her own 16th birthday, Moira and Robert handed Felicity her own credit card.  
“We thought since you’re a full-fledged member of this family now, it would be only fair to give you your own credit card. The small money you earn from the tutoring lessons will barely cover the costs for personal stuff and clothing and since Thea and Oliver own one as well, you should have one, too. A fixed amount of money will be transferred to your Credit Card every month and you can spend it however you wish. If you’d like to save it for the future we’re totally fine with that, too. You can basically do whatever you want to with your money, as long as you don’t buy drugs or alcohol with it.” Moira warned her with a smile and handed Felicity her very own, very first credit card.

Paying with that card still felt weird for her and more often than not, Felicity tried to pay with her own money, not daring to take away money from the Queens and spend it for her stuff. But after running out of savings from the tutoring lessons after a while, and after Thea’s constant words of persuasion, Felicity finally gave in and purchased her first few items with the Credit Card.

\----------------------

 

When they left the Store, both equipped with two new Bikinis, they almost crashed into Tommy and Oliver, along with several other College buddies.

“Ladies!” Tommy loudly announced as soon as he spotted the two brunettes loaded with the Agent Provocateur bags. “Lingerie shopping? Can I have a look?” he grinned at them with waggling eyebrows, trying to get an eyeful of the contents in Thea’s bag.

“Wouldn’t you like to know that?” Thea smirked back before looping her arm through Felicity’s.

Oliver stayed silent during the entire encounter, catching small glances at Felicity who laughed and smiled at her best friend while she joked around with Tommy. But as soon as he spotted two of his College buddy’s check out Felicity, he cleared his throat and stepped closer to them, trying to pipe in on the conversation.  
“Hey, Queen… who’s that hot friend of your sister?” one of them asked with a smirk, motioning in Felicity’s direction.

Oliver immediately hated the predatory tone in his friend’s voice and the way he looked at Felicity.  
“She’s living with us and is basically like a little sister to me, which is why I expect you to leave your hands off her.” Oliver replied, his voice a little more growly than he intended to. His friend just raised his hands in mocked surrender and immediately turned his attention to some other topic. Oliver was thankful for it. He didn’t want any of his College friends near her, so the ‘she’s like a little sister to me’ comment would work for them. They all knew Thea was off limits, so if he could put Felicity in the same position with his buddies , he would gladly do so. The more men stayed away from her, the better.

 

When one of their friends announced that they wanted to move on, Tommy hugged Thea and Felicity goodbye. Oliver gave Felicity a small smile, earning a shy wave of her hand in reply. When the girls were about to leave on the other direction, Thea suddenly stopped abruptly and turned around.  
“Oh, and my birthday Party on Saturday… I don’t think I need to mention that I expect you there! Dressed appropriately!” she called after them with a grin on her face.

That made the walking group of men stop and turn around in surprise.  
“All of us?” one of their buddies replied, earning a laugh from the others.

“Of course only the finest man of your group.” she smirked before she turned her attention solely on Tommy. “Mr. Merlyn?” she winked at him, earning a broad grin from said man. “Oh, and my brother, of course.” she added with an eye roll and a wave of her hand. “I’ll send you a text with information on the dress code.” she called before turning on her heel and waltzing away from them, making sure to put a little more sway to her hips. Felicity had trouble following her best friend and as soon as they rounded a corner and were safely out of sight from the men, Felicity grabbed Thea’s wrist and stopped her.

“What. Was. That?” she asked her giggly, squealing friend. Felicity knew very well that Thea had a crush on Tommy, but she also knew Thea would never act on it, let alone make a move on his older brother’s best friend. So Thea’s flirty and confident behavior apparently didn’t only surprise Tommy, Felicity was just as surprised to see Thea act so confident towards her crush.

“I have no idea, maybe it’s the Bikinis?” Thea laughed and giggled. “Either way, Tommy will be coming to my Party.” she practically squealed and jumped around, her Shopping bags whirling around in her tiny hands.

“Well he didn’t agree yet.” Felicity threw in but Thea cut her off.

“Trust me, he’ll come. Tommy would never miss a good Party. And since we’re celebrating at home, Oliver will be around, too. I’d say it’s a win – win situation for both of us, isn’t it?” Thea winked at Felicity, earning a deep red blush from her best friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up, Thea's birthday Party and some other happenings. ;)
> 
>  
> 
> Oh, and please let me know what you think about pairing up Thea and Tommy! I'm really curious to hear your thoughts on this :)


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for all the Comments on the last Chapter! It seems almost everyone likes the idea of pairing Thea and Tommy up, as long as they won't be siblings in my Story, because eww... :D  
> We'll see where it leads to in my Story. :)
> 
> Thanks so much for the continued support and lovely words regarding this Story! I love teenage Felicity and College Oliver. So much tension :D
> 
>  
> 
> Oh, and Happy Halloween everyone! :)

A few days later, the entire Mansion was decorated in a Hawaii – theme, with bartenders running around in floral Shorts and sun hats, serving Cocktails in Coconuts. Felicity and Thea both wore their new Bikinis and had paired them with knee length Hula skirts and a few flower necklaces. Thea also put over an hour effort into Felicity’s hair, pinning the sides up so her locks fell straight over her back while she wore hers in loose curls. A Hibiscus flower in each of the girls’ hairs topped the Outfit for the night.

Even though almost all of Thea’s guests were dressed similar, Felicity felt kind of exposed with her bare stomach and back. She wasn’t chubby or fat by all means, but being so naked during a Party that most of her classmates attended wasn’t something she was entirely comfortable with. She was only glad that Thea didn’t opt for the thigh long Hula skirts; Felicity swore she would have never left her room in that too short piece of fabric.  
Moira and Robert just shortly stopped by to say Hello and after Raisa assured them to keep an eye on the girls and inform them if anything came up, both Queen heads excused themselves for the night.

Just when Thea was about to shoo the group of guests out to the decorated Pool area, Oliver and Tommy entered the room. Felicity was too busy getting her Coconut refilled to notice them at first, but when Thea next to her suddenly stopped talking, she looked up as well.  
Both men were dressed in nothing but floral swim shorts and a loose shirt. Tommy was sporting one of the stray hats Thea had been handing out to all the guests, whereas Oliver wore one of his signature Caps and his sunglasses. Felicity and Thea must have both staring at them for a little longer than appropriate, because when one of their friends shoulder bumped Thea, letting her know “You’re drooling a little, Ladies.”, both girls turned bright red.

 

Thea cleared her throat, turned her attention to the bartender who shot her a VERY confused look when she ordered two of the best Whiskeys he could get. She pulled her Hula skirt a little lower than she wore it all night, letting it stop just below her hipbones. Felicity watched her closely the entire time, unsure what Thea might be up to. When she gave Felicity a grin and took the glasses from the bartender, both girls moved away from the bar and into the crowd of people until Felicity stopped her, a very confused and questioning look on her face.

“We’re just getting them something to drink. Geez, relax, Fee. It’s my birthday!” Thea grinned, handed Felicity one of the Whiskey glasses and took a sip from the other. As soon as the strong liquid touched her lips, she made a gagging sound and immediately reached for one of the Champagne flutes sitting on the table near her, earning a giggle from the brunette next to her.  
“God, how can they drink something so horrible?” she choked and Felicity shook her head in amusement. After shoving another Champagne flute in Felicity’s hands, the girls made their way through the dancing crowd and over to the garden Lounge Area, where Oliver and Tommy had found a spot, able to overlook almost the entire crowd. As soon as they spotted Felicity and Thea though, both their faces lit up with a smile.

“Birthday girl!” Tommy called loudly and hopped up from the lounge bed to hug her tightly. “Having a good time? You certainly look like it!”  
Thea blushed slightly but eagerly returned the hug, even with a Champagne flute and a Whiskey glass in hand. As soon as he loosened the hug and stepped back, she handed him the Whiskey glass with a smile.

“There’s lipstick on it.” Tommy remarked after taking a short glance towards the offered glass.

“I know.” Thea winked and turned her attention to Felicity, who wordlessly stood next to her, both glasses still in hand, keeping her eyes on Oliver. When she didn’t move but shyly kept looking at him through her lashes, he got up from the lounge bed and took two steps towards her, way into her personal space, removing his sunglasses before he spoke.

“I believe that’s mine, then?” he asked her in a low tone, letting his fingers brush over hers clutching the glass tightly. She could feel his breath on her skin and smell his cologne. Her fingers itched to just drop the Champagne flute and reach out for his abs, but she was too nervous and too scared to do it. So she only gulped and nodded.  
“But I didn’t drink from it.” she suddenly blurted out, whipping her head in his direction, her glasses almost hitting his nose in the process.

“Want a sip?” he asked her with a grin, offering the glass to her but Felicity just shook her head, taking a step back from him.

“I’m not allowed to drink and Thea already said it tastes terrible… so I’ll stick with Champagne and Virgin Colada.” she replied and everyone stepped a little closer together. They clinked their glasses, wished Thea well, everyone took a sip from their drink and then an awkward silence fell over them.

 

The boys plopped back onto their Lounge beds and Oliver busied himself with his Whiskey, checking out Baseball results on his phone while Tommy started looking around the Pool area until he found a girl that apparently piqued his interest.

Thea and Felicity took a seat in one of the Lounge beds opposite of the boys and Felicity was busy again, explaining Thea something about School when she realized Thea wasn’t paying attention to her any more. Instead, the youngest Queen had her eyes closely on Tommy, who himself had his eyes closely on the very firm backside of the girl he spotted at the Pool. Thea’s head went back and forth between the girl and a smirking Tommy, who was so engrossed in staring at the other girl while sipping on his drink, that he didn’t even realize he was being watched.

Felicity could see the devastation on Thea’s face the more she saw Tommy grinning and smirking at that girl near the Pool, and before she could think about it, she jumped up from the lounge bed, downed her Champagne and looked directly at Tommy and Oliver.  
“Gentlemen, empty your glasses, please. We’re on to our next event on the agenda, the infamous Chicken Fight!” Felicity grinned and Thea immediately pulled her down next to her in shock.

“What are you doing, Fee?” she whispered in a warning tone but Felicity was as relaxed as ever.

“I’m going to get you on Tommy Merlyn’s shoulders.” Felicity winked before getting up from the lounge bed again. Oliver and Tommy were both staring at Felicity, unsure if she was serious. But as soon as she took a breath of confidence and pushed down her Hula skirt and removed the flower necklaces, Tommy and Oliver were both on their feet, downing their Whiskeys in one long gulp before shredding off their Shirts. Thea undressed as well, however still very reluctant. As soon as they made their way through the crowd and reached the Pool, Felicity fully realized the dilemma she just got herself in.

 

She tried to help Thea get closer with Tommy by suggesting to play Chicken Fights, but she didn’t realize she would have to sit on some male’s shoulders as well... Oliver’s very broad shoulders, in this case. As soon as realization hit her, she got reluctant. Should she back out and offer someone else to sit on Oliver’s shoulders and fight Thea? Well that would be pretty low of her, especially considering she was the one initiating the game. Great, Felicity. Just great.

Oliver and Tommy jumped into the Pool and waited for the girls to step in. Thea shot her best friend a look before she took the first step into the water, turning her back to the Pool. “That’s probably the most stupid idea you’ve had in a long time.” Thea mumbled and growled, but Felicity could see the blush her best friend kept on her face, knowing she would have Tommy’s head between her legs in a few minutes – no pun intended.

“I know.” Felicity mumbled back and followed her best friend into the water. A few more people were in the Pool with them, but kept themselves busy with pool noodle fights.

 

Thea was fully in the water and waited for Felicity to join her when suddenly, two strong hands gripped her legs and she could feel a head slip between her thighs. She squealed in surprise and tried to steady herself when Tommy returned to the surface again, lifting Thea out of the water in the process. Thea squealed and laughed, but Felicity could also see her nervous blush. She had never been this close to Tommy, and certainly not in just a tiny Bikini.

Oliver scooted close to Felicity from behind and firmly grabbed her waist, making her yelp in surprise. She had expected him to dive under her like Tommy did with Thea, but when she felt him lift her up and above his head, she had trouble not falling over backwards. Before she could register what had happened, Oliver had her firmly placed on his shoulders, the short hair on his neck tickling the insides of her thighs slightly. She grabbed his head to steady herself for a moment when Oliver wrapped her feet securely around his waist.

“There’s something you should know about me, Felicity.” Oliver suddenly spoke up in a predatory voice, loud enough for Tommy and Thea to hear it, too. “I’m undefeated when it comes to Chicken Fights for more than 2 years. And I intend to keep it that way.” he spoke at Tommy, earning a smirk from his best friend in return. Thea wrapped her hair in a bun, ready to attack when Oliver took the first step towards Tommy, making Felicity sway back in surprise.  
“Give everything you got, Felicity.” Oliver told her, never looking away from their opponents.

 

“5 rounds. The looser gets to pay for the Dinner Date we 4 will be having next week!” Tommy announced loudly with a grin, making both girls look at each other in surprise.  
“And the winner gets to pick the Restaurant!” Oliver replied, not caring for the shocked looks both girls on their backs sported.

 

Thea could see the moment Felicity deeply regretted suggesting that game but she had to admit, it was pretty smart of her. They were the center of attention now, without a doubt, and normally Thea would love that. But as soon as Thea spotted Tommy checking out another girl, she wanted nothing more than Tommy’s attention, not caring for all the other guests on her Party. So finding herself currently sitting on his shoulders with her legs securely wrapped around Tommy’s body, Thea realized that Felicity’s suggestion was indeed a brilliant one. Even if Felicity apparently wasn’t ready to see it that way herself, guessing from the helpless and nervous look she shot Thea.

“We’re so not going to lose this game, Felicity.” Oliver almost growled and Felicity’s head snapped back down to him.

“I have to say, your combative spirit is impressive, but kind of intimidating as well.”  
It was the first thing Felicity had spoken since she so stupidly suggested that game a few minutes ago. Oliver laughed slightly, but didn’t reply. A few Party people had gathered around the Pool, curious to see what was going on.

 

The first round was more of a tentative shoving and grabbing, checking the opponent out instead of a real fight. Both girls apparently needed to get a feel for the game and were very hesitant at first. Thea was about to re-adjust her bun, when Felicity suddenly shoved her backwards with an evil grin, catching both her and Tommy completely off guard. Thea’s body swayed backwards and Tommy couldn’t stop her from falling. She hit the water with a loud splash and Felicity raised her hands in victory.

“Yess, good one!” Oliver called and out of nowhere, gave her a kiss on her right knee. They both froze instantly at the contact. Felicity, as soon as she felt his lips on the inside of her right knee, looking down at him with wide eyes. Oliver, as soon as he realized what he was doing. He hadn’t thought about it but just acted. And even though he wanted to do it again, he made a mental note to stop acting and keep his brain focused instead. At least until Felicity’s hips weren’t pressed to his neck so tightly any more.

 

Oliver and Felicity ended up winning the game 3 : 2 and everyone was completely out of breath. They spent another 30 minutes in the Pool, relaxing and chatting casually, sipping on the Drinks a bartender had served them earlier.  
All 4 spent the rest of the night dressed in bath robes, chatting with other Party guests, but mostly sitting together on the Lounge beds. Every now and then Thea had to make a round and entertain her other guests, but other than that, the girls solely focused their attention on Oliver and Tommy.

Oliver couldn’t hide his smug grin after his big win over Tommy and continuously suggested some of Starling City’s most expensive and fancy Restaurants, just to mock his best friend.  
The girls only shook their heads at them, both sure that they were just making fun of them and wouldn’t actually take them to a Date.

 

As soon as the crowd started to thin out to just a few guests left around midnight, Thea and Felicity made their way inside the Mansion to say their goodbyes to everyone. Since they had promised Moira not to party longer than midnight, they still needed to shoo the last guests out of the house before they could start helping Raisa to clean up the mess.

Tommy and Oliver strode inside when Felicity was busy picking up Coconuts and plastic cups while Thea gathered all the Champagne flutes standing around the living room.  
“We’re heading out for the night. Thank you Thea, it was a lovely Party.” Tommy announced and kissed Thea slightly on the cheek. It took her a moment to fully realize what he was saying.

“Wait, where are you going now?”

“A few buddies are at that new Club downtown, Verdant. We’re going to join them for a drink – or two.” Oliver grinned at the girls and before anyone could protest, both men were out of the room.  
Felicity and Thea stared at each other for a moment, both sporting a frown on their faces. Felicity had hoped Oliver and Tommy would spend the night with them, watching some lame Horror movies while Thea had hoped Tommy and Oliver would join them for another round of Chicken Fights in the Pool. Neither of them would have guessed the men were heading out for partying, though.

“Guess it’s only the two of us, then.” Thea shrugged and picked up a few more Champagne flutes. Just when they put everything on the counter in the kitchen, they could hear Tommy and Oliver laugh before the heavy main door fell shut in the hallway.

 

The girls spent the rest of the night in Thea’s room, watching ‘Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs’ until they both fell asleep. Around 3am in the morning, Felicity was awoken by her bladder.  
She gently hopped out of Thea’s bed, shut off the TV, dimmed the lights and made her way to her own bathroom. She quickly brushed her teeth to get rid of the weird taste of Champagne on her tongue and slipped under her blanket. Realizing that she hadn’t a bottle of water left in her Mini fridge, she quickly slipped out of her room into the dark and quiet hallway to grab another bottle from the kitchen.

It was dead quiet in the house and for a moment, Felicity felt a little intimidated by everything. She felt like the faces in all the paintings on the wall were watching her while the hallway seemed to become longer and longer. She sprinted down into the kitchen, grabbed a bottle of water and made her way upstairs just as quick.  
Keeping her head down so she wouldn’t feel watched by the paintings, Felicity was about to turn left and step into her room again when she crashed into a very firm body. A very swaying firm body. Taking a step back, steadying herself, Felicity saw Oliver turn around slowly. Apparently the crash must have had a bigger impact on her than on him, because he had barely moved a muscle whereas she almost landed on her butt.

“Oliver!” she whispered after she had steadied herself, pressing her free hand to her heart to calm herself.

“ _’licity!_ ” he slurred back with a wide grin, ready to take a swaying step towards her, only to be stopped by her arms.

“Nice evening?” she cocked an eyebrow at him but Oliver just burped slightly.

“Come on, let’s get you to your room before you’re going to wake up the rest of the house.” she told him and immediately wrapped his large arm around her neck. She knew she could never steady him if he fell forward and he would probably pull her with him in the process, but feeling Oliver so close to her felt awesome, so she didn’t complain.  
Oliver wordlessly started walking with her, his steps swaying a little less thanks to her help. When they arrived at the door to his room, she unwrapped his arm from her neck and took a step to the side so he could enter his room.

Oliver, though, suddenly pulled Felicity into his arms, hugging her goodnight. She froze for a moment, confused by his actions but quickly relaxed, enjoying being so close to him one more time before they would go back to their normal distant behavior again the next day – until suddenly, Oliver grabbed her hips, pulled her up and turned her, pressing her back into the door to his room.  
Felicity yelped in surprise, her back crashing into the heavy wooden door. Oliver looked at her with heated eyes before he licked his lips and started looking down at hers. She stared at him in complete shock at his sudden actions, unable to move a muscle or even protest to be let down.

And then Oliver kissed her.

It happened so quick, Felicity had trouble realizing what was happening for a few seconds. He hungrily pressed his lips onto hers, his tongue trying to find hers. This kiss wasn’t soft and tender, it was hungry, fierce. This kiss was like a nuclear explosion—pure heat and power.  
Felicity had trouble keeping up with his hunger and forcefulness but tried to give as good as she got. He tasted like a strong wooden Scotch and something she couldn’t quite figure out, but she immediately loved it. When Oliver started kissing down her chin and began sucking on her neck, she let out a soft moan.  
“Oliver,” she breathed out, making him pull back for a moment. As soon as she started to speak, destroying the bubble they were in just seconds ago, realization kicked in on him.

He immediately loosened his grip on her legs, unfolded them from behind her and took a step back, swaying slightly.  
“Crap… sorry.” he slurred slightly, the hunger in his eyes still evident.

Felicity, unable to say a word or even breath evenly, stared at him, her fingers still shaking from excitement, her legs feeling like jelly. She watched him slowly taking a step around her and into his room. When the door closed behind him without another word or look back at her, she stood in the dark hallway for what seemed like an eternity, unmoving, on shaking legs. Her lips felt like on fire and she was sure if she hadn’t stopped him, she would be sporting a nice hickey on her neck by now.

 

She had no idea how she got back to her room, but when she sat in her bed, the water bottle long forgotten on her nightstand, her back resting against the headboard, Felicity wondered if Oliver really wanted to do that.  
He was pretty drunk, that was obvious. But like her mother always used to say, _'Only three types of people tell the truth: Kids, the drunk, and the angry.'_ , that should mean that Oliver DID want to kiss her. Which means he already wanted to do it before he got drunk. So that could mean he probably would want to do it again.  
With a small smile spreading on her lips thinking about it, Felicity curled under her sheets and went back to sleep. The faster the next day came, the better. She couldn’t wait to see Oliver again during breakfast.

 

The next morning Felicity was the first to be up. Since it was Sunday, Robert and Moira usually slept a little longer, meaning that breakfast was later than it usually was held during the week. Since Thea was still sleeping off the birthday Party aftermath, Felicity quickly took a shower, got dressed in sweatpants and a Hoodie and made her way downstairs. Raisa was probably already busy preparing breakfast and since she hadn’t paid Castiel a visit the day before, she could take her time and do that now.

With a smile on her face, slightly humming her favorite tune on her way to the kitchen, Raisa immediately looked up to see the happy face and overall good mood of the young brunette girl entering the kitchen. Felicity usually wasn’t a grumpy morning person by all means, but calling her a happy morning person would have been a lie as well. At least until she had downed her first cup of coffee.  
“Miss Felicity. You are in a good mood this morning.” Raisa said with a smile while she stuffed a plate of Madeleines into the oven.

Felicity grinned and nodded, grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl on the table, motioning to the backyard.  
“I’m going to pay Castiel a visit. The food smells awesome, Raisa.” she added with a bright smile before she quickly slipped through the glass door and out onto the backyard. Today was going to be a good day.

 

Breakfast had been served in relative silence. Thea was her sleepy, grumpy self like every morning while Robert and Moira enjoyed their coffee in silence, each studying their Newspaper. Oliver had been late to breakfast – as usual, at least whenever he went out the night before. Raisa offered to bring a tray of food upstairs to his room but Moira insisted he come down to join them. It was Sunday, over all.

So when Oliver trotted down the stairs, dressed in sweatpants and a Shirt, Felicity expected him to at least look at her, give her a small smile, a short nod, anything. But he didn’t. Instead, he kept his head down and took a seat on the table, solely focusing on the food in front of him. Moira looked up from her Newspaper once and leveled him with a slightly raised eyebrow that Oliver skillfully ignored. After stuffing a bagel into his mouth and downing his coffee in almost record time, Oliver got up from the table again.  
“I’ll meet with Tommy in 30 minutes; we’re heading out to the pier and check out the new Merlyn yacht. I can’t promise I’ll make it for Dinner.” he announced and quickly left the dining room. No one seemed to have taken notice, Robert and Moira still engrossed in their newspapers and Thea busying herself with her phone. Only Felicity sat there, keeping her eyes firmly on the empty hallway where Oliver just walked through.

 

He hadn’t even looked at her.  
She didn’t expect him to say anything, or maybe even explain his actions from last night, but she at least expected him to look at her, even if it was only for a second.  
What if he didn’t remember the kiss? He was pretty wasted last night; maybe he forgot what he did to her in the hallway?

Excusing herself for a moment, Felicity almost jumped out of her seat and had to force herself to walk out of the room slowly so she wouldn’t raise any suspicions. But as soon as she was out of sight, she dashed upstairs, ready to catch Oliver and demand an explanation.  
When she arrived at his door, she could hear shuffling sounds and him speaking to someone. Just when she was about to knock, the door to his room flew open and Oliver stepped out, his phone pressed to his ear, the other holding his leather jacket. He froze for a moment when he saw Felicity standing there, her face a mixture of anger and confusion. Tommy’s voice kept coming through the speaker while Oliver stared at her, and neither dared to say a word. Though Felicity could see that Oliver knew very well why she was standing at his door. So he hadn’t forgotten what had happened the night before. But before she even got the chance to think of a sentence to begin the conversation with, Oliver shook his head while motioning to the phone at his ear, moved around her and walked down the hallway without another word or even a look back, leaving Felicity alone in the large hallway, right in front of the closed door to his room.

 

It stayed like that for several days and it made Felicity feel miserable. If Oliver barely looked at her before their kiss, he now completely ignored her. During breakfast or Dinner he put his attention either on his food, or on his parents, before he usually left quickly after they were done eating. Felicity tried to hide her sadness from the Queens, most of all from Thea, but it became worse and worse every day, and soon Thea sensed something was wrong with her best friend.

Felicity knew Thea knew about her crush on Oliver, but no way in hell could she tell her that Oliver had kissed her and now completely ignored her after it happened. Of course he did. He clearly regretted what happened and tried to avoid any awkward situations between them. Felicity totally got it. But it hurt nonetheless.  
Not even in the early mornings, when Felicity got up to feed the horses and saw Oliver returning from his morning run, he stopped by and talked to her like he often did the weeks before. Or even looked at her. He just passed the horse stable and ran back to the Mansion to then disappear and only return in the evening. A few days she didn’t see him at all, mostly during the weekends, making her guess he spent the time with Tommy and his College friends. And some girls, of course.

 

And soon after that, she saw Oliver and Tommy with two very blonde and very giggly girls, leaving the Mansion in Tommy's black Maserati. She tried not to be affected by it, but deep down, it really hurt her.

 

After two weeks of mourning, Felicity decided to accept it like it was and move on with her life. Oliver obviously preferred to be with brainless chicks his age, and she was done running after a man that didn’t show any real interest in her. She busied herself with her books and started studying for school again. The weekends were usually filled with trail rides with Thea or spending the evening in the City with her. Thea’s BMW proved to be the best gift ever, because the girls could now hit up a Diner at 11pm without having to ask Oliver or one of their personal drivers to take them.  
Felicity also found some interest in going shopping with Thea. The younger Queen was still too frantic when it came to clothes for Felicity’s taste, but it sure was fun as hell, spending the afternoons at the mall with her best friend.

 

Two of the students she tutored in school were able to improve their grades impressively and told her they wouldn’t need her help anymore, so she accepted two new ones. One of them, Ray, was a cute nerd who just moved to Starling City and needed to catch up on some classes, so the Principal asked Felicity for help. Since Ray had a slightly different schedule than her and it didn’t allow them to do the tutoring lessons at school, she invited him to her home after School.

 

Two days later, Felicity already waited for Ray to arrive when the doorbell rang. She let Raisa know she would be answering the door and immediately let Ray enter the spacious hallway.  
“Wow, do your parents own the City or something?” he asked her while looking around the large room with the various hallways leading to more rooms.

“Foster family. And no, they don’t.” she smiled at him and closed the door. “Come on, we’re going to study in my room. It usually gets hectic around here during the day and I don’t know about you but I can’t concentrate when it’s hectic.” she half babbled, making Ray laugh slightly.

Felicity smiled and started walking through the Mansion with Ray following close behind. Whenever she looked over her shoulder, she could see him staring to his left and right, taking in all the impressive paintings and the countless number of doors leading away from the hallway.  
“Don’t you get lost in this House? I would get lost in here…” he mumbled while following her, until she stopped, turned and motioned for him to get inside the room to her right.

 

Since Thea needed to follow her mother to the Company for some family matters, Felicity had plenty of time to spend with Ray. They were having fun together and immediately found a few nice topics to talk about, stretching their tutoring lesson up to 3 hours in the end.  
Felicity led him back to the main door and opened it for him, promising to repeat the nice afternoon soon, when she suddenly saw Oliver and Tommy pull into the driveway, two short-skirted girls in tow. Felicity froze for a second, before she reacted out of pure instinct and wrapped her arms around Ray, pulling him into a hug. She didn’t look at Oliver, but hoped he would at least take notice. After he had been hurting her for so long, she wanted to at least try and give back just as good.  
Ray froze for a second, surprised at Felicity’s hug, but just as quickly he returned it. When they had to take a step to the side to let Tommy and the others into the Mansion, Ray and Felicity let go of each other.

Ray’s face lit up like a Christmas tree when she took a step back and looked at him.  
“Today was great. Can’t wait for next Wednesday! See you at School.” he waved and took the few steps down before he grabbed his bike leaning next to the stairway. Keeping her eyes firmly on her, his face slightly flushed, he kept walking away.

“Ray, watch out, the –“ Felicity called and watched him stumble over one of the stones framing the large round flower bed in the middle of their driveway, almost falling over his bike in the process.

He caught himself in the last second, and after re-adjusting his bag and jacket, he gave her an awkward wave.  
“All fine. K, bye!”

Felicity laughed and shook her head in amusement before she went back inside, only to run into Tommy, Oliver and the girls, sitting on the couch in the living room. She tried to ignore them and immediately made a beeline for the kitchen when Tommy called out her name.  
“That your boyfriend, Lissy?” he asked her with a wink and a grin on his face, making the two girls chuckle.

“None of your business.” Felicity replied, anger in herself welling up, not only at Oliver who still kept giving his best at ignoring her, but most of all at the girls who apparently liked to laugh about her.  
Tommy raised his eyebrows slightly at Felicity’s curt reply and raised his hands in mocked surrender.  
“Oh wow, looks like trouble in teenage Paradise.” he half murmured, making the two girls laugh even harder.

That’s when Felicity’s control snapped. She turned around, fully facing the group on the couch, her face hard and her eyes angry.  
“Could you tell your two bimbos to stop laughing at me, please?” she snapped at Tommy who looked even more surprised by the second.

That’s when one of the girls looked up at Felicity, who still stood in the middle of the room, arms crossed over her chest.  
“Excuse me?”

“Excuse you? Oh give it a break please. You two are going to be dumped again sooner than you could spell the word ‘oops’. Not that I expect you to be able to spell it in the first place. But I’m sure there are other things you can do with your mouth than spelling words. There must be, otherwise neither of these guys would waste their time with either of you.” Felicity told them with an arrogance in her voice that not only surprised herself, but apparently Tommy and Oliver as well. “Oh, and the next time you decide to laugh about someone, make sure that this someone isn’t in the room with you.” Felicity added, tilted her head slightly with an arrogant smile and gave a quick look at Tommy and Oliver, who now both stared at her, their mouths hanging open in shock, before she turned on her heel and marched into the kitchen, a proud grin parked on her face. Neither Tommy nor Oliver were going to mess with her and certainly not the chicks they dragged here.

 

She poured herself a glass of orange juice, trying to will down the adrenaline rushing through her veins and began slicing two apples for Castiel when suddenly, Oliver stormed into the kitchen, closing the sliding door behind him with a little more force than needed.  
“What the fuck was that about?” he yelled at her, the first full sentence he had spoken to her since the night he kissed her over two weeks ago and made her feel miserable all the time after.

“Fuck you!” Felicity shot back just as loudly, not willing to back down on him.

“What’s your fucking problem?” he yelled and took a step closer to her, only stopped by the kitchen counter separating the two.

“What’s wrong with me?? Seriously, Oliver? These two chicks out there,” she spat at him, motioning to the living room with her knife, “were laughing about me and I told them to shut up.”

Oliver looked at her, angry and confused at her sudden snappy behavior. It wasn’t like Felicity to be so mean and bitchy, something he had grown to like a lot about her. So her actions a few minutes ago definitely surprised him.

 

Felicity put the knife down and wiped her hands on a towel before she put the apple slices into a bowl and looked up at him.  
“Look, Oliver. I don’t care about the chicks that you fuck and dump all the time. But as soon as one of them starts making fun of me, especially when I’m still in the room – **so I can hear it,** “ she yelled loudly into the direction of the door, making sure that Tommy and the girls caught the last part, “then I’m sure as hell going to kick their asses.” Felicity told him with a firm voice before she picked up the bowl and made her way to the back door, ignoring him like he did with her all the times in the last few weeks.

Before she could step outside though, Oliver grabbed her hand and stopped her.  
“Is this because of what happened between us in the hallway?” he asked her with a low voice and if Felicity would have looked into his eyes a little longer, she would have seen the honest concern of his actions in his deep azure blue pools. But she only ripped her wrist out of his hold and took a step closer to the door, away from him.  
“There didn’t happen anything between us. You were drunk, you kissed me, I’m over it. And you suddenly are, too, judging by these two chicks sitting in the living room right now. Don’t keep them waiting too long, Don Juan.” she called over her shoulder and was out the door before Oliver could blink. He watched her walk away for a moment, until she took a turn right and went out of sight. 

 

Oliver, still completely baffled by her rude words and the fact that she said she was over what happened between them, took a seat at the kitchen counter. The glass Felicity had drunk from when he entered the room stood in front of him, traces of her lips clearly showing on the rim of the glass. He picked it up, twisted it a few times, thinking about how angry she sounded when she yelled at him, before he pressed his lips firmly on the mark hers had left, and drank the rest of the orange juice.

Felicity’s words kept ringing in his head, the mood to hang out with the girls in the next room suddenly long gone. He wanted to follow her, wanted to talk to her and ask her why she seemed so hurt and mean all of a sudden. But he knew once he stepped foot out and followed her to the horse stable, he wouldn’t be able to hold himself back. One look into her blue eyes would be enough to throw all caution to the wind with her. And he couldn’t let that happen. Not again. So spending time with Tommy and the girls it would be.  
With a sigh, Oliver got up from the kitchen stool and joined his best friend in the living room again, Felicity’s words replaying themselves in his head over and over again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be starting a new Novel for NaNoWriMo tomorrow, which means I'll have to write on 3 stories at the same time. The next two Chapters on this Story are pretty much done, but I can't guarantee to be updating just as regularly during November.  
> But since my NaNo story will be an Olicity one as well, I'll make that up to you guys later. :)


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, but I'm working on 3 different Stories right now, as well as my NaNoWriMo Novel, so I'm a little bit behind on everything.

Felicity’s harsh words coupled with the fact that she totally avoided and ignored him the following days during Dinners and breakfast really irked him. He knew kissing her was wrong, especially considering how drunk he was, and that she probably was upset with him because of it. He just had no idea why she became so snappy and rude towards the girls he brought here. Clearly she never cared for them before – but the more he thought about it, the more he realized he rarely ever brought girls over here before. It all began after the kiss in the hallway.  
Was he trying to make her jealous? Or was he trying to show her it didn’t mean anything to him, that it was just a fun and thoughtless drunk mistake? That thought would have been a blatant lie, though. It did mean something to him, probably more than he would even admit to himself, but every time he thought more of Felicity than just Thea’s best friend living with them, he realized a relationship between them would never work out. And he didn’t even know if she thought the same way about him at all.

So he needed to shoo her away from him, make her mad so that she would avoid him and made things easier for him. It was selfish thinking, of course, and he was probably hurting her, if her reaction in the living room had been any indication. But with his feelings for her becoming stronger every day and his mistake of kissing her in the hallway, making things even worse for himself – because her lips and her skin felt so intoxicating – Oliver knew he needed to do something, fast, or everything would went out of control.  
That's why he started bringing women with him to Queen Mansion, acting like the careless College playboy towards Felicity. He had seen the hurt in her eyes and the way she tried not to be affected by it, and it broke his heart. She was so young, barely 16 years old, and had to endure so much pain in her life already that he felt bad hurting her this much. After all, Thea and him had been the only people she trusted when she ran away from home. He always cherished that thought, and it made him proud.

 

Their interactions improved a bit after the encounter in the kitchen, but Oliver still kept dating various women and Felicity kept shooting him snappy comments about it whenever she got the chance. They never spoke about the _‘hallway incident’_ again, or the shouting match followed after it in the kitchen. Felicity was happy Oliver apparently decided to drop the topic, whereas Oliver was sad Felicity seemingly had no interest to clear things up with him or even give him the chance to talk in private. After a while, the topic had gone forgotten mostly.  
Other than that, they kept their conversations to breakfast and Dinner times only. With Felicity tutoring Ray 3 times a week now and her Monday afternoons usually spent at the local Orphanage, they didn’t even see or ran into each other that much.

 

Felicity kept sneaking out of the Mansion every Sunday morning to feed Castiel, even though Oliver swore she timed her early morning visits to match with his morning run times. And knowing that made him smile, because it showed him that Felicity somehow still cared about him, despite their relationship taking a dive after their kiss.

Oliver knew she was seeing that Ray-guy from her school a few times a week for tutoring lessons. He would never admit to be eavesdropping at her door, but hearing them laugh together, joking around, whenever he walked past her room, made him angry.  
Lately, Oliver somehow only managed to make Felicity angry with him, no matter what he did, and he missed making her smile, putting a blush on her cheeks. He wanted to be the only one to make her laugh and blush; even though he knew they would never have a chance at a serious relationship. Not that his parents would ever approve of that, either. But the thought of the petite brunette wrapped up in his arms stayed glued into his mind, no matter how much he tried to shake them or distract himself with other women.

 

After a few weeks, randomly running into each other turned into a natural plaything for them. Whenever Oliver returned from his morning run and the light in the horse stable wasn’t on already, signaling him Felicity was there, he took a turn and ran another small round.  
Whenever Felicity finished feeding the horses before Oliver had stopped by, she usually took her time to thoroughly clean Castiel’s mane and tail. Multiple times, if need be.

They rarely spoke more words than a short ‘Hi’ or a shy smile from Felicity, but Oliver loved their early Sunday mornings. It meant Felicity was all his for a moment and he wouldn’t have to share her with anyone else. Oliver avoided asking her about Ray – or any other male tutoring student, for that matter, while Felicity avoided asking him anything personal at all, leaving their sparse conversations to upcoming holidays, the weather or other boring topics, mostly. They usually walked back to the Mansion together and parted ways at their rooms after 10 minutes of chatting at the horse stable.

 

Felicity became bolder after a while, even though she would never admit that to anyone. Something inside of her wanted Oliver to notice her differently. And since he apparently only noticed her in the early mornings, when they were alone at the stable, she decided to take her chances.  
The clothes she wore in the morning went from comfy and loose to more form fitting and tight. Sweatpants were changed for Jeans, the too large Hoodie changed to a more fitting tank top and zipper jacket that she always kept open, no matter how freezingly cold it was in the mornings. Girl had to show off her assets. She also took more time in the bathroom, straightening out her brown locks, before she headed out to the horse stable. It all meant 30 minutes less sleep each morning, but if Oliver noticed her that way, it was well worth it to her.

 

Felicity had seen the women Oliver dated, and even though she tried to ignore them and blank out the fact that Oliver was dating other women in front of her, she had to admit that some of these girls were beautiful. One girl in particular had long, sleek legs, covered by a skirt that was almost too short to be decent, paired with a set of nude High Heels that made her legs look even longer. And despite her very short skirt she wasn’t looking indecent; her style actually was something Felicity could imagine wearing as well, even though she didn’t own any clothes like that – at all. Every time Oliver brought that blonde girl to the mansion, she couldn’t stop staring at her legs, wondering if Oliver would notice her in a different way if she started working out, getting herself more in shape.

 

So one Sunday morning, she got up an hour earlier than she would normally have, put on her brand new running pants and a tank top, wrapped her head in a high ponytail and put on her running shoes. He had seen her in a Bikini already, but when she checked herself out in the floor long mirror, she had to admit that the running gear made her look hot. Wondering if Oliver would see it like that, too, she stepped out into the hallway and waited for him.  
He left his room a few minutes later, his running gear on, iPod in hand, and gave her a very confused look when he spotted her in the hallway, fully dressed in running gear, a shy smile on her face.

“Can I join you?” she whispered, making Oliver’s eyebrows shoot up. After realizing she was serious, he thought about it for a moment. He wasn’t used to have a running partner but that way he could spend some more time with Felicity – as friends only, of course. And running meant she wouldn’t have the breath to argue with him or even fight him. He would be able to enjoy the silence and her company for half an hour, so he agreed and nodded.

 

Halfway into the run Oliver could see her getting out of breath, so he offered to take a break. Felicity nodded and took a seat on a fallen tree next to Oliver. He handed her his bottle of water and watched her taking a large gulp. Her hair was messed up, she was completely drenched in sweat, her chest rising and falling with every deep breath she took.  
“So… what got you into running?” he casually asked her and took a gulp from his water as well.

Felicity shrugged. “I’m just trying to get a bit more in shape.”

“Not like you need it.” Oliver mumbled before he emptied the bottle, making Felicity’s head snap around. He was surprised at himself about the slip and after looking her in the eyes for a moment, realizing how close they were sitting next to each other, he cleared his throat and motioned to the trek.  
“Let’s get home before it starts to rain, shall we?”

Before Felicity could protest or agree, he was already up on his feet, offering her a hand. She took it, got up and started following him back to the Mansion at a comfortable pace that made it easy for her to keep up with him and catch her breath.  
A mile from home Felicity suddenly felt like playing. She quickened her step and fell in trot right next to Oliver.  
“Wanna race?” she asked him with a smirk and a sparkle in her eyes that surprised him. She caught him completely off guard and before he could register what she had said, Felicity was already speeding away from him. Oliver had trouble keeping up with her but his long legs slowly but surely closed the distance between them. When she could see the outlines of the Queen Mansion property in front of her, she looked over her shoulder to see how far behind Oliver was – until she stumbled over a root and crashed to the ground, landing face first in the dirt with a yelp.

Oliver immediately ran to her side and helped her sit up.  
“Shit, are you okay?”

She had bloody scratches on her cheekbone, her brand new running shorts was ripped on one knee, where she also sported a bloody bruise, and her palms hurt like a bitch. But other than that, she seemed okay – the embarrassment and dirt all over her body aside.  
“I’m fine.” she rasped out of breath, trying to get up but wincing in pain as soon as she tried to put weight on her knee.

“No, you most certainly are not.” Oliver replied and wrapped his arm under her knees to pull her up into his arms. “Come on, let’s get you home.”

 

It took them another 30 minutes until they arrived at the Queen Mansion and even though they have been gone for more than an hour, everyone else in the house except for Raisa was still asleep. Felicity rested her bruised cheek to his chest and savored the feeling of being carried by Oliver. She sure hadn’t planned the morning to go like this, but now, in his arms, she didn’t complain one bit.  
Oliver carried her into her room and helped her into the bathroom.  
“Take a hot bath. I’ll take a shower myself and then we’ll check out your knee.” he announced and left her room just as quick as he had entered it.

 

Her knee ended up bruised and swollen, but other than that, fine. Oliver came over 30 minutes later and treated the cuts she had on her cheek and palms before he applied a cooling gel around the outer areas of her knee. Felicity, mentally thanking herself for shaving her legs the evening before, sat in her bed, dressed in a loose shirt and hot pants, watching Oliver’s hands carefully sliding over her knee.

That had been her last day of running.

 

 

**_3 months later_ **

 

Weeks passed by and with Summer almost over, it meant a ton of extra work for Felicity. With all her tutoring work and the regular visits at the Orphanage, she rarely found time to study for her own classes, which meant she had to do that during her Fall break.

The relationship between Oliver and Felicity was steadily improving and Felicity even stopped her snotty side comments about Oliver’s latest girlfriend after a while. They weren’t back to their old, relaxed behavior yet, but Felicity at least started to enjoy each Oliver’s company again. At least it felt like that to him.

 

When Felicity sat at the Pool, engrossed in studies and work for multiple exams, stressing herself out on getting the best grades possible, she didn’t see Oliver coming out to the Patio near the Pool where she sat. He took a seat opposite of her, making her look up at him for a second before she buried her nose in her books again.  
Oliver watched her for a moment. Her brows were furrowed and her fingers were nervously playing with the pen in her hand.  
“You should take a break for a moment. Let’s hop into the Pool!” Oliver offered, already kicking off his shoes while he spoke.

Felicity eyed him over her glasses for a moment. “You do see that I’m studying here, right? I have exams to pass, Oliver! I have grades to keep up!”

“You,” he replied, taking away her pen, pulling her up from the chair while he spoke, “need to relax for a minute. I’m no genius, but I do know that stress and headaches won’t help getting any more information into that beautiful brain of yours. Besides, 10 minutes won’t make a difference, right? Right!” he pulled her out of his chair, closing her books. “Plus, I know you’re wearing a Bikini already. Now get out of this dress and jump into the Pool with me before I throw you in fully clothed.” Oliver told her with a grin.

Felicity sighed and let herself be pulled closer to Pool by him. “I take it that’s non-negotiable?”

“Absolutely not.” he firmly replied before he winked at her, turned to the lounge bed beside the Pool, threw his phone and sunglasses on it before he slowly took off his Shirt and Cargo Shorts.

Oliver caught her staring before she realized that she stood frozen on the spot, watching his muscled chest and strong arms move, and when she realized Oliver caught her watching him, she turned away with a heavy blush. It took her a deep breath and two steps away from him to clear her thoughts again and when she was about to pull the dress over her head, she could hear a loud splash behind her. Shoving off her ballet flats and the sundress, Felicity turned around and saw Oliver diving through the water. She quickly tied her hair into a messy bun so she wouldn’t have to deal with drying and straightening it again later, and slowly made her way to the edge of the Pool. When she put one toe into the water to check the temperature, Oliver splashed a load of water in her direction. Felicity shrieked back and gave him an evil glare.  
“You do this again and I’ll grab my stuff and will lock myself up in my room to finish studying there.” she warned him, pointing an angry finger in his direction, earning a chuckle from Oliver in response.

He swam to the other side of the Pool, watching the scene in front of him while Felicity slowly, very slowly, slid down into the water. Making sure to keep her head above the surface, she swam a round through the Pool before she made her way over to Oliver’s side. He watched her closely the entire time, keeping his back to the edge of the Pool, both arms casually resting on each side. Felicity took the same position after making sure there was a respectable distance between them.  
She leaned her head back on the edge of the Pool and sighed, feeling the muscles in her neck and shoulders slowly relax after sitting over her books for almost 3 days straight.  
She may or may have not pressed her chest up to the surface in the process after catching Oliver watching her. The sharp intake of breath coming from next to her was reply enough to let her know Oliver caught the movement.

 

After a few minutes of silence between them, Oliver cleared his throat. Felicity kept her eyes closed, enjoying the sun warming her skin, a small grin always plastered on her face, knowing she had an effect on Oliver.  
“You need to relax some more, stressing yourself out so much isn’t good for you.” he told her and Felicity could hear a hint of concern in his voice. It made her smile. She knew he was right, stressing herself too much over exams had never helped her. But she had promised Moira her grades would be immaculate when the Queen family had agreed to take her into foster care; and Felicity didn’t want to disappoint her foster family. They had done so much for her already, so she at least wanted to make sure her grades were as expected and he would make the Queens proud. Over all, it would help her find a great job later, too, so she didn’t complain.  
But Oliver was right, and Felicity knew it. She needed to take a break from time to time, let her brain relax and breathe for a moment, processing the information she had already stored up in there.

“Do you have a place to escape to when everything gets too much?”  
Felicity suddenly asked him with a low voice and Oliver’s head turned around at that, watching the brunette next to him closely. She kept her eyes closed and her head rested on the edge of the Pool, her body flush with the surface, her feet making little waves. He hadn’t seen her that relaxed in quite a while and mentally fist-pumped his ability to pull her away from work like that.

“You mean like a gym that I hit up or something?” Oliver asked her, half jokingly.

“Any place.” she shrugged. “A place that helps you calm down and relax.”  
She turned her head in his direction, opening her eyes for a moment.

“You mean like the horse stable is the escape place for you?”

She laughed slightly at that. “You could say that. But since so many other people come there as well, I have some other escape places, too. The old guest room in the East Wing that nobody uses any more, for example. I like to sit there in silence and just read a good novel, knowing nobody will come in and disturb me.” Felicity smiled, thinking of all the evenings she had already spent in that room shortly after she discovered it and Raisa told her it wouldn’t be used any more. “And there’s an old Cabin around 20 miles into the woods. Thea and I once found it by surprise during a trail ride last year. It’s lovely there. One time when Thea couldn’t join me, I went there and spent the afternoon there alone with Castiel. So… Something like that.” she shrugged.

Oliver thought about that for a moment before he answered.  
“No, I don’t think I have such a place.”

“Well then get yourself one, old man!” Felicity laughed and pushed herself off the wall and started to swim to the other side of the Pool to reach the stairs heading out.  
Oliver stared at her completely dumbfounded for a moment, before he quickly followed her. Felicity giggled like a little kid when Oliver dived under water and grabbed her legs. When she felt him pull them down though, she tried to reach the edge of the Pool to hold onto something and get him off. After kicking her feet a few times, he reluctantly let go of them.

Felicity held herself to the edge of the Pool when suddenly, Oliver surfaced right in front of her. He grabbed the edge of the Pool right next to her shoulders, caging her in, before he towered over her, drops of water falling on her skin.  
“Next time you call me an old man,” he told her in a deep, seductive voice, looking her straight in the eyes, his nose just inches from hers, “I’m going to show you what that old man is capable of doing to you.”

Felicity’s eyes were transfixed on his. Even if she tried, she couldn’t have looked away. They were too mesmerizing, and for a moment, she was wondering if Oliver would lean in and kiss her. Well, she knew he wouldn’t do that again, but she kind of dreamed he would. Maybe. Yeah, of course he wouldn’t.

When she gulped and licked her lips, Oliver looked at her mouth for a second before his eyes found hers again. When he slowly pushed himself away from her and gave her a wink before he swam to the other side of the Pool, Felicity inhaled deeply. Her heart was racing, her skin where his arms had touched her was tingling and she felt like she was on fire.

Oliver tried to calm his mind just as much after he turned his back on her. Why did that woman had such an effect on him? He tried to keep his distance from her since their encounter in the hallway a few weeks ago, but every time she was around, he got drawn to her like a moth to the light.  
Multiple times he had tried to stay away from her, every time failing miserably. He needed a change of plans if he wanted to keep his distance from Felicity, even though he wasn’t so sure if he really _wanted_ to keep his distance from her. It was more of a ‘morally right’ thing to do.

 

\--------------------------

 

With Christmas time around the corner, Felicity got in a festive mood she hadn’t felt many years ago. The Mansion was decorated to the brim with ornaments and trees everywhere and Raisa kept the entire main floor in the most amazing bakery smell Felicity had ever smelled.

But it also brought back memories to Christmas time with her parents. Ever since she left the Orphanage and had been placed with the Waller family, Christmas hadn’t been a festive event any more. She rarely received presents on Christmas morning and didn’t have any money to spend on presents either. So after a few years, the excitement and festive mood for Christmas faded just like it did with her birthday.

Living with the Queen family was so much different though. Besides the fact that Felicity now earned her own money, even if it was just a few bucks a week, she also received some kind of pocket money from her foster family, meaning she was finally able to think about gifts for Christmas for the first time in more than 10 years.  
And that brought her to the next problem. Felicity had no idea what to get for everyone.

 

Thea probably was the easiest one to figure out, especially after the brunette spotted a Versace dress at the Starling City Mall that hadn’t been available in her size any more. It took Felicity 5 minutes of Internet research until she found it available in a Store in New York City.

For Robert and Moira, Raisa had been a great help to Felicity, especially figuring out the correct shoe size for Moira and the perfect Scotch Blend for Robert. Purchasing said Scotch also fell into Raisa’s hands, since Felicity wasn’t allowed to buy it yet. And since someone had spilled a very persistent liquid onto Moira’s beloved nude Pumps, Felicity took up on Raisa’s suggestion to try and find an identical pair for her foster mom. Making a mental note to get Raisa something nice as well, Felicity went shopping.

For Oliver, she thought about asking Tommy for help. She had a few ideas for gifts, but nothing she was completely happy with. So calling Tommy asking him for help seemed like her best bet.  
“Lissy! Want to yell at me again?” he laughed after he answered the phone. It wasn’t that they talked to each other a lot, let alone over the phone, especially after Felicity got her little outburst of anger weeks ago. After it, Tommy almost seemed terrified of her. Or maybe he was just really ashamed. Felicity had no idea, but to be honest, she didn’t care much for it anyway. Both men needed to learn not to make fun of her, and if her harsh comment made an impact on them, then fine. It took Tommy only a few days though to get back to his normal self with her, even though he carefully avoided bringing up any of her possible boyfriends.

“Actually, I need your help with something.” she started and Tommy immediately stopped laughing. “But before I tell you, you need to promise me not to tell anyone. Especially Oliver!” she warned him, making Tommy whistle lowly.

“Oooooh, a secret between you and me. I like that!” he replied. “Go on, spill!”

“I need your help finding the perfect Christmas gift for Oliver.” she told him with rapid speed, suddenly nervous about his reaction.  
She was met with silence on the other side of the line.  
“Tommy?” she asked after a few moments. “You still there?”

“Yeah, I was…. Sorry, your statement confused me for a moment.” he chuckled and Felicity wondered how he could have meant it. But before she could ask him, he continued to speak.

“What kind of help do you need?”

“I don’t know… some advice what he might like.” Felicity shrugged.

“Oh I can tell you what he likes…” Tommy mumbled more to himself.

“What?” she asked, unable to fully understand his sudden mumbling.

“You really have no idea, do you?” he chuckled and confused Felicity even more with his weird behavior.

“No, I don’t. That’s why I called you. But it seems you can’t help me, or you won’t. So I’ll see if I can find something myself. I’d appreciate if you don’t tell Oliver about this conversation.” she told him with an annoyed and exhausted voice and was ready to end the call when Tommy stopped her.

“Hey, sorry. That’s was rude of me. You know what? Actually, I might have an idea. I’ll pick you up in 20 minutes at the front gates of the Mansion. Make sure Oliver doesn’t see you.” Tommy announced, making Felicity roll her eyes.

“You do know I managed to run away and hide in a Garden Shed for almost two weeks, right?”  
Tommy snorted, and ended the call. Felicity quickly changed into some more comfortable street clothes and got herself a little dolled up for the afternoon. Tommy wasn’t an unattractive guy by any means, and many women in the City knew him, so she wouldn’t make the mistake to look like a nerdy Teenager next to him.

 

Tommy picked her up and as soon as she had taken the seat in his black Maserati, Felicity realized that this was the first time she was alone with Tommy, basically spending the entire afternoon with him. She knew Thea had a major crush on the Merlyn heir, so sitting next to him now, in his car, without Thea, gave her a slight uneasy feeling. After their fallout in the living room Tommy had been a lot gentler with her, but it still felt weird to her nonetheless.

Plus, she had no idea where Tommy was taking her, when she realized they weren’t heading for the Mall but to the outskirts of Starling.  
“Where are we going?” It was the first time Felicity spoke since she had taken a seat in Tommy’s car. He kept staring straight ahead, the black sunglasses perched on his nose, even though there barely was any sun at all.

“You’re good at Poker, right?” Tommy asked her and gave her a quick look over his shoulder before facing the road again.

That statement confused her. Felicity wanted to go gift shopping for Oliver, not out for some Casino fun.  
“Yeah. So?” she asked him with a slightly annoyed tone, confusion clearly written all over her face.

“So there’s a guy from our College who owns this signed Baseball. For months, Ollie has tried to win it from him, even offered to pay him ridiculous amounts of cash for it. He always refused, said he would only be giving it away if it’s won over a game of Poker. Now, the thing is, Ollie and I suck at Poker – big time. I’m pretty sure that dude never had to take up on Ollie’s offers for the Baseball because he won thousands of Dollars from us over the months already.” Tommy mumbled the last part and Felicity leaned closer to him, her interest piqued, even though she still couldn’t fully follow him.

“Yeah, sad story, but what do I have to do with it?” Felicity asked with a slightly raised eyebrow.

“You see, Ollie is crazy competitive. He won’t take a loss and he really wants that Baseball. But we aren’t able to win it, no matter what we do. You want the perfect Christmas present for him? It’s that Baseball. Or you in some sexy lingerie that I would gladly volunteer to help you pick.” Tommy grinned and waggled his eyebrows.

“Ha ha, very funny, Merlyn. As if Oliver would appreciate that. So what now? You’re driving me there and make me give it to him because I’m a woman?” she asked him, still too curious to hear Tommy’s full plan, even if it sounded crazy ridiculous.

“Naah, you have way too much clothes on for that. We have tried that already as well, to no avail.” he chuckled. “You’re going to play against him. And you’re going to win that Baseball. Simple as that.” Tommy smiled.

“What?? Tommy, I just wanted your help finding a gift for Oliver, I didn’t plan on spending several thousands of Dollars in a Poker game!”

“You won’t.” Tommy grinned. “Because I’ll pay the stakes. You’ll just play and win him this damn Baseball and I promise you you’ll have the most awesome Christmas gift ever!”

"What makes you so sure I'd be able to win it?" she asked him, her arms crossed over her chest, looking straight at him.

"Because you're good at everything you do. At least that's what Ollie told me about you. And you have that fire inside you. You're fierce. I like that." he waggled his eyebrows again, making Felicity roll her eyes, letting out an annoyed huff, even though she couldn't hold back the small smile that formed on her lips.

 

Felicity ended up winning the signed Baseball along with two VIP-Tickets to the Starling Archers Hockey game and over 12.000$ cash in just 5 rounds. Tommy actually had to drag her away from the table and a very grumpy and angry looking guy after he lost his precious Baseball and several other goods to a 16-year old girl with a proud smirk on her face. On their way home Felicity insisted on giving the 12000$ back to Tommy who kept refusing, telling her she well owned it and the fun he had the afternoon with her had been payment enough for him.

When she realized she had no chance to argue with him about that, Felicity made a mental note to purchase a gift for Tommy as well and made him stop at the Starling National Bank so she could deposit the money in her account.

 

Tommy dropped her off at the front gate to the Mansion and gave her a big hug, telling her to repeat the funny afternoon soon. Felicity huffed a laugh and made her way back to the Mansion when Tommy sped away.

With almost all presents stored away safely, Felicity now only needed to find one more – a present for Tommy. Asking Thea was totally out of the question for Felicity; she would have had to explain to Thea why she wanted to get him a present in the first place and that would mean telling her she spent the afternoon with Tommy, alone – to play Poker. Nu-uh. So not going to happen.

So she asked the only other person she could, when it came to Tommy, even though she still dreaded to knock on his door and actually talk to him privately.

 

The relationship between Oliver and her had almost fully rebuilt over the months, even though he kept dating multiple women. She tried to ignore that part of him so it wouldn’t hurt as much. But after that afternoon in the Pool together, something had changed between them. Oliver didn’t bring the girls over to the Mansion any more or at least tried to keep them away from her eyes. Felicity just rarely got to see any of these women at all, lately. He also spent more time at the Mansion again, only staying out all night for Partying during the weekends. To her, it felt as if he wasn’t trying to avoid her any longer, which made her happy.

 

Felicity knew Oliver didn’t like Ray and the fact that she spent so much time with him. He never openly told her this, not that he ever talked to her about his feelings at all, but she could see the way he looked at Ray every time she greeted him at the door or met them in the hallway. At first, she loved to play with Oliver and drive him mad by getting extra close to Ray whenever Oliver passed them by, or hug him goodbye whenever she knew Oliver would be somewhere around. But when she started fearing for Ray’s safety after she saw the hard stare Oliver gave him, she stopped her little game.

Truth was, she really liked Ray. And they probably would be dating already, if he wasn’t completely in love with his classmate Anna. He told her that after a few weeks of tutoring and Felicity liked him all the more for his honesty and open heart. Ray also had some senses no one else in her personal circle of family and friends had – he could see things about her no one else saw. Like her having feelings for Oliver.  
Felicity turned bright red when Ray bluntly asked her one day, and since he had been so honest and open with her, she didn’t see a reason to lie to him. So she told him. Everything. And it felt very refreshing, actually having someone to tell about the kiss between them and the way Oliver treated her afterwards and how she felt it was her own fault for hoping too much.

Ray quietly listened to her rambling that day and when she finished and fought back a tear that threatened to find its way down her cheek, he hugged her. Their friendship bonded a little more that day, and even though Oliver acted pretty strange whenever Ray was in the house, Felicity liked having him around.

 

So after Tommy had dropped her off and she stored away her gifts, Felicity went to knock on Oliver’s door, ready to ask him what kind of gift she should get for Tommy.  
She expected Oliver to throw her a snotty comment about Ray, or maybe one of his idiotic smirks. She even expected him to make fun of her and ‘lover boy’, how he liked to call Ray whenever he thought Felicity wouldn’t hear it, and she was ready to shoot back an equal comment about the various girls Oliver dated.

What Felicity didn’t expect, though, was a naked woman sprawled over his lap, moving her hips, when she opened the door and stepped inside his room, accompanied by Oliver’s grunts and moans.

Felicity froze in shock and turned bright red, her fingers clinging to the door handle forcefully. As soon as Oliver spotted her, his eyes went wide, almost panicky. With a loud “Shit” he rolled himself and the very confused looking woman over to the side and hastily grabbed the sheets to cover them.

As soon as her throat started to cooperate again, Felicity mumbled a low “Sorry, Sorry, Sorry.” over and over before her feet began moving of their own, carrying her out of his room and into the hallway.

 

She had no idea how she got back to her room, she didn’t even know if she closed the door to Oliver’s room when she left. All she could think of was Oliver’s soft moans and the way that woman moved her hips in his lap. She forced herself not to begin to cry, not during the day and not with several people running around the house. She knew Oliver was dating, she even knew he was sleeping with these women, but seeing the evidence first hand hurt her more than she could admit.

Trying to distract herself, Felicity grabbed her tablet and started browsing the Internet, trying to come up with her own idea of a gift for Tommy. She had no idea how long she sat on her bed, cross-legged with her Tablet resting in front of it, but a soft knock jerked her out of her thoughts.

Her head shot up in surprise. Thea was still in the City for a School Project and it was still too early for Dinner, so it couldn’t be Raisa either.  
“Yeah?” she replied and watched the door slowly being pushed open. Her face lost all color when Oliver’s head peeked inside. He gave her a nervous smile.

“Can I come in?”

“You don’t need to ask for permission, Oliver. This is your house.” Felicity told him, her tone sounding a little snappier than she intended to. Through the corner of her eye she could see Oliver slowly step inside and close the door behind him, even though she kept her head down and tried to focus on the Tablet in front of her.

“Where’s Thea?” Oliver asked her and shoved his hands in the pockets of his Jeans. He shifted from foot to foot and Felicity could feel he was uncomfortable. Well, so was she!

“Out for some School Project.” Felicity replied without looking up.

“Why did you knock earlier?” he asked her, clearly trying to avoid addressing the elephant in the room.

That’s when she looked up for the first time and leveled him with a hard stare.  
“You mean when I waltzed into your room while you were banging that chick? Oh, nothing important. I was just wondering if you could help me finding a Christmas gift for Tommy. But it’s fine, I already got some ideas.” she told him with a hard voice. “Sorry I interrupted you doing… well, whatever you were doing.” she added with a dismissive wave of her hand, turning her attention back to the Tablet.

Oliver’s eyebrows shot up in confusion when he processed what she had just told him.  
“You’re getting Tommy something for Christmas? Why?”

That’s when Felicity’s control snapped. First she walks in on him screwing some chick during the day, with a house full of people, not even bothering to lock up the door, and now he was standing in her room, demanding an explanation to why she was going to get a gift for Tommy. She was fed up.  
“Well, maybe because I LIKE Tommy?” she snapped at him and within a second, the confusion on his face was replaced with something she couldn’t fully decipher. It looked a little bit like jealousy, mixed with an amount of hurt and annoyance.

“Seriously? You _LIKE_ Tommy? Since when?” he asked her with an almost snappy tone, folding his arms over his chest in defense.

“Yeah, maybe I do. What, are you jealous? Because you certainly didn’t look jealous 30 minutes ago, when that chick was riding you! So what’s your fucking problem right now, Oliver? I sure as hell don’t have the time nor the energy to argue with you right now. So if the only reason for you to come into my room was to yell at me, then please… you know where the door is.” Felicity told him with a hard voice, staring him right in the eyes.

Oliver looked at her for a moment and let her words sink in. He didn’t want to argue with her either, that’s not why he came to her room. His expression softened and he took a step towards the bed, his arms falling loosely next to his body, one hand nervously rubbing his neck.  
“Felicity, I’m sorry. I really am. I thought you were still out in the City. I really didn’t want you to see this. And I don’t want to fight with you.”  
Felicity looked up at him for a moment. Even though his puppy eyes didn’t work with her, they were cute to look at nonetheless. And Felicity could see Oliver was honest with her and really meant what he said.  
“Do you still need help finding a gift for Tommy?” he asked her with a warm, soft voice and a small smile on his face. Felicity nodded and looked down at her Tablet. The ideas she had all turned out to be major crap and she hated them all.  
“Tommy collects Whiskey. Especially rare and out of country brands. So anything Whiskey will melt his heart. If you need help with purchasing anything you can always ask me.” he smiled and Felicity nodded.

“Next time, I’d rather send a text than knocking on your door, though.” Felicity added, making Oliver chuckle lightly.

“Is… is she your girlfriend?”

Felicity couldn’t stop her mouth in time before she blurted out the question, taking Oliver off guard a bit. She nervously started fumbling with a loose end of her comforter and wanted to take back her words the moment they left her lips, until Oliver audibly cleared his throat.  
“No she’s not my – we were just… you know what, let’s not talk about that, okay?” he told her with a nervous tone and Felicity nodded, too shy and embarrassed to look up.

 

Oliver left her room quickly after that and Felicity was grateful that they could avoid the “awkward situation” thing that would have come next, had he not stormed out of her room.

 

The next few days, Oliver kept an embarrassed blush on his face whenever he saw Felicity in the house. She couldn’t fully understand why Oliver did it, but it made him look cute nonetheless. He had been attentive and nice all the time, but on the other hand he completely avoided any women-topics whenever Tommy was around and he knew Felicity was there, too. Even Tommy cocked an eyebrow at him after a while, but Oliver just brushed it off as _‘not in the mood for women stuff’_ right now.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christmas coming up, a little Tommy / Thea stuff, and a bomb being dropped. Enjoy. :)

“What did you do now?” Tommy asked loudly as he waltzed into Oliver’s room, waiting for him to get ready to head out to the Club Scene with their buddies.

“Hm?” Oliver replied, only half listening to his best friend while he tried to find the right shirt for the night.

“I’m talking about Felicity.” Tommy said and within less than a second, Oliver’s head shot around, facing his best friend, the Shirt in his hand long forgotten.  
“I met the girls at the mall this morning and wanted to know what they got everyone for Christmas and as soon as the topic changed to you, Felicity’s entire behavior changed. And I don’t mean it changed to the fierce chick that sassed us a few weeks ago in the living room. Felicity became quiet, so quiet that even _**I**_ could see it, and you know I mastered in ignoring women’s behavior. She completely zoned out of the conversation as long as we were talking about you. So… what did you do?” Tommy asked him, his voice as hard as Oliver rarely heard it from his best friend.

Oliver stared at him for a moment, trying to process what Tommy was telling him. Felicity looked pretty hurt when she walked in on him and that girl, he had seen that. Not only surprised or a bit embarrassed, like everyone else would look, but downright hurt. And for a few days now, he couldn’t wrap his head around it. He knew Felicity liked him, he had seen the little glimpses she tried to catch whenever he was around and the way she blushed every time. And he had seen the way she reacted to his absence after he kissed and then pretty much dumped her. But would he have guessed she liked him the way he liked her? No.  
“A couple days ago she walked in on me… and Amber.” Oliver almost mumbled, making Tommy’s head snap up.

“You mean like, walked in on you while you were –“

“Yeah, that’s exactly what I mean, Tommy.” Oliver told him with a sigh.

“Wow… now everything makes so much more sense.” Tommy mumbled with a half grin, more to himself than to his best friend, but Oliver somehow still caught it.

“What makes sense?”

“Oh, it’s just… I saw Amber and her nerdy friend 2 days ago at the Campus Coffee Shop. They were chatting about you so of course, I was happy to find an empty table right next to them so that I may or may not be able to eavesdrop a little.” Tommy grinned and waggled his eyebrows but Oliver only stared expectantly.

“Get to the point, Merlyn.”

“Anyway, Amber was talking about things finally becoming more serious with you, making it official soon, blah blah, you know the drill… and I was about to zone out on the conversation until I heard a very familiar name be spoken by her.”  
Oliver looked even more confused by the minute, completely unable to follow where Tommy’s speech might lead to.  
“Amber said you moaned Felicity’s name while you two were banging. Twice.” Tommy announced with a smirk and crossed his arms over his chest, expectantly staring at Oliver who suddenly went completely pale and frozen on the spot.

“Shit.” he murmured to himself and sat down at the edge of his bed.

“So it’s true?” Tommy asked him with wide eyes. “Holy shit, it’s true.” he laughed and went to take a seat in the desk chair opposite of Oliver. “So you thought about Felicity while you were doing Amber?” Tommy asked him, the amused smirk still plastered on his face.

“I didn’t think about her, it just… slipped out, okay? No big deal. I know it happened to you as well already, so save yourself that smirk.” Oliver warned him.

“Did anything happen between Felicity and you? I mean, besides the obvious ogling at each other that you two do all the time.” Tommy asked him, his eyes trying to read anything on his best friend’s face that might give away something.

Oliver rubbed his hand over his face and pinched the bridge of his nose. He really didn’t want to talk to Tommy about it, but on the other hand, Tommy already knew so much, so there really wasn’t a point to hide anything from him any longer.  
“We’re not ogling each other. She’s trying her best to ignore me whenever I’m around and besides, she got that Ray friend. So she most definitely isn’t _ogling_ me.” Oliver told him.

“That’s bullshit buddy, even I can see that, but whatever. What about you?”

Oliver gave his best friend a slightly confused look.  
“What do you mean?”

“Yeah well, so far you have only talked about Felicity being not interested in you, which, by the way, says more about your feelings than you’d like to admit. And you still didn’t answer if something happened between the two of you, so…?” Tommy pointed out and expectantly looked straight at Oliver, letting him know with just that single look that he wasn’t going to let him avoid that question again.

“We kissed.” Oliver mumbled, eyes closed, remembering the short, fragile moment he shared with Felicity before he stormed away and hid in his room like a coward.

“What? When?”

“It’s been weeks ago, Tommy. And I don’t really want to talk about it.” Oliver sighed.

“Wait, was that right before Felicity started acting strange towards you? Before she snapped at us and the girls and then you two were fighting in the kitchen? Because, no offense, that could be heard up into the second floor back then.” Tommy chuckled and Oliver nodded in defeat.  
“And you keep telling yourself she isn’t interested in you? Come on, buddy. You’re not that stupid. That girl is in deep with you. Probably has been months already. And you wonder why she acts up every time you drag some girls here? Seriously? What would you do if you’d walk in on her making out with a guy?” Tommy asked him, making Oliver’s head snap up in less than a second, his face hard, eyes full of anger.  
“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Tommy smirked.  
“You’re falling for that girl, dude.” he told him with a straight face, letting Oliver know he wasn’t joking this time.

“I’m not.” Oliver snapped back, suddenly feeling like he needed to defend himself.

“Oh you totally are. And it makes so much sense now! Your entire weird behavior suddenly makes SO much sense!” Tommy half laughed and shook his head, earning a growl and evil glare from his best friend.  
“Your sudden change in behavior whenever Felicity was around in the last weeks, the way you brought women here on purpose, just to make her mad or shoo her away from you, or whatever stupid idea your brain has made up to keep her out of your mind. And then the sudden disinterest in women in the last week. I bet my ass that disinterest stemmed from the fact that Felicity walked in on you and _‘we’re going to make it official soon’_ – Amber. And your evil glare right now tells me I apparently hit the bullseye.” Tommy smirked.

“That’s bullshit, Tommy!” Oliver snapped at his best friend, but the exhausted face and the sigh with that he spoke told both men Tommy spoke the plain truth.  
“I’m not falling for her and she’s not falling for me. And even if we did, it’s not that that we could simply start a relationship!” he said, clearly exhausted by the topic already.

“Why not?” Tommy shot back with a serious tone, but still clearly amused by Oliver trying to hide the truth from his best friend and himself.

“Because she’s 16 years old, Tommy!” Oliver almost yelled at his friend, not caring if anyone in the Mansion might hear him.

“Oh come on, buddy! Does she act like a 16 year old girl? Sure not. Hell, if she were my type I’d have made a move on her weeks ago.” Tommy grinned but as soon as he saw the almost feral glare Oliver sent him, his smirk vanished. “Calm down, I said she isn’t my type. Put that caveman face away.”

“Even if I could put aside the fact that she’s still so young… and the fact that she’s legally still a minor… there’s still that other thing…” Oliver started and Tommy’s amused smirk and grin immediately vanished.

“Okay, I’ll give you that. But it’s not like you couldn’t be with her, you know? Besides the age difference.” Tommy offered.

“First let’s wait and see how everyone will take it, then I can think of anything else.” Oliver sighed and rubbed his face. “Could you keep that between the two of us, please? I don’t want anyone to know what’s going on between Felicity and me. Or, what isn’t – for that matter.” Oliver asked his best friend with an almost pleading look.

“Sure thing. But really, get your shit together with her. Either way, she’s a sweet girl and she doesn’t deserve to walk in on you and some nameless chick. And there’s no reason to treat her like shit. Just be normal around her. She doesn’t seem to like that careless idiot persona anyway. And talk to her about it. Or I’ll do it.” Tommy winked with a grin and got up from the chair. “And now get ready, the boys are probably already waiting.”

 

Oliver sighed and nodded. He wasn’t really in the mood to go out any more, too many things that Tommy said to him still whirling around in his mind. Could Felicity really feel the same for him like he did for her? Even if he tried to hide it, not only from everyone else but mostly from himself? The afternoon with Amber, when he accidentally moaned Felicity’s name, twice, kind of was an eye opener to him. He didn’t want to sleep around like that, especially not to purposely hurt Felicity. But in his panic, he didn’t see any other way to make them both keep distance, to do the morally right thing. Giving in on his feelings would mean getting in real trouble, not only with his family but with the law as well. But most of all he had no idea if Felicity felt the same way. Sure, she made some innuendos from time to time, and nervously blushed whenever he was around, but many of Thea’s friends did that when they saw Oliver. He had gotten used to it by now.

Making a mental note to watch Felicity a little closer the coming weeks, see if Tommy’s statements were indeed true, he got himself ready to head out. Maybe a night with his buddies and some drinks would help seeing things a little clearer.

 

\--------------------------

 

“Okay, what did he do now?” Thea asked Felicity after they went upstairs after Dinner with Oliver and her parents. Felicity followed Thea into her room and gave her a very confused look.

“Who did do what? Talk a little less cryptic and I’m sure I can answer you.” Felicity smiled at her friend and took a seat on her bed.

“My brother. What did he do now? This morning when we met Tommy at the Mall everything was fine – until Ollie’s name came up. And just 5 minutes ago, you and him were acting crazy weird with each other. So… what did he do?”

Felicity looked at her best friend and blushed slightly before she looked down at her lap and started thinking. She couldn’t tell Thea about walking in on her brother screwing a random girl. That would be too embarrassing for both her and Oliver. And honestly, she didn’t want to tell her best friend how much she had fallen for her brother. Knowing Thea, Felicity knew such a confession would lead to questions, followed by even more questions, ending by Thea probably trying to set her and Oliver up, forcing them to talk things out. And Felicity did not want that. Nu-uh. So she decided to play up for a moment. Maybe Thea would just drop the topic.  
“What makes you think he did do something?”

Thea’s eyebrows shot up for a moment, clearly surprised at Felicity’s confident response.  
“Okay, what did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything, Thea.” Felicity sighed. “I just realized your brother apparently is a bigger idiot than I first imagined, that is all.”

Thea rolled her eyes and laughed slightly at Felicity’s statement. “Okay, he definitely did do something. And if you’re not telling me, then I’m going to waltz to his room and make him tell me right now. So?” Thea demanded, her hands pressed firmly to her hips, foot tapping on the ground impatiently. She looked ridiculous, and it would have made Felicity laugh, but she knew Thea was dead serious. And she wanted to save herself the embarrassment of Thea running to Oliver, asking him what he did to upset Felicity. So she sighed and decided to tell her. At least as much as she needed to tell. Which meant leaving out the part of walking in on him and that girl. Well, she told she walked in on them making out, but the look on Thea’s face told her that the younger Queen clearly got the point.

 

After Felicity finished telling her everything, Thea looked at her best friend for a moment, clearly puzzled.  
“You really like him, do you?”

Felicity nodded and looked down into her lap.  
“But he’s your older brother… like, way too old brother… and I’m not even 18… and he has all these gorgeous girlfriends, and – “

“Fee, stop it.” Thea cut her off and took a breath while looking at her best friend for a moment.

“I never knew you liked Ollie so much. I mean, I knew you liked him… but I thought that was just some temporary crush thing, like pretty much all my High School friends have on him, which is kind of ridiculous, because he’s an idiot.” Thea rolled her eyes and rambled, making Felicity laugh slightly.  
“What are you going to do now?”

“Honestly? I don’t have the slightest idea.” Felicity admitted with a sigh and half ironic laugh. “He’s clearly not interested in me, and I’m not going to drown in sorrow, so I guess I’ll just woman up and look forward.” Felicity shrugged.

“Okay, let’s change the topic.” Thea suddenly announced, and Felicity was thankful for her best friend deciding to do just that. A little distraction was a welcome thing for now. “I need your help.”

“With what?” Felicity asked her, clearly surprised at Thea’s kind of nervous and even a little bit shy look. It wasn’t like Thea Queen to look shy. Thea normally was the epitome of boldness. It made Felicity suspicious.

“Getting the perfect Christmas gift for Tommy.” she smiled shyly and Felicity actually had to laugh at the look the youngest Queen sported. Even her cheeks were blushing and it made Felicity instantly curious what Thea was up to. “But you need to promise me to never tell anyone about it. Ever!” Thea warned her, making Felicity nod eagerly. She couldn’t wait to hear what kind of gift Thea had planned for Tommy.

 

  
Days after the conversations each one had with their best friends, Felicity and Oliver started behaving normal around each other again in the Mansion. At least as far as each of them could. Felicity kept seeing Oliver each morning again while feeding the horses and if she wouldn’t know him better, she would have sworn he was wearing Cologne and… even styled his hair? For a morning run? Shrugging it off, she just admired the view (and good smell) and went back to casually chatting with him, though Oliver acted a little strange around her. He kept looking at her, always holding her gaze, different than how he did all the months before.

Thea kept mocking Felicity that Oliver suddenly behaved surprisingly different around her, but to her it all seemed normal. After forcing herself not to think about him so much anymore, she managed to turn her attention to her School projects again, almost entirely zoning out on Oliver around her.  
But after a few days, even Felicity saw the change of behavior in Oliver the days after she practically walked in on him and that woman. And she wasn’t talking about him suddenly wearing Cologne and staring at her after his morning runs.

 

Actually, she thought she would be the one being embarrassed and blushing every time Oliver entered the room, but quite the opposite was the case. Felicity had pushed the memories and emotions aside, but she was still hurt and sad, even though she knew she knew Oliver would never recognize her like that. But it was Oliver who often felt at a loss for words whenever they were alone in a room and she had to admit, his weird staring thing really confused her. And yet every time she caught him looking at her, it was her who blushed and immediately looked away again.

 

It didn’t get better after a few more days and Felicity was so engrossed in getting everything ready for Christmas, so she tried to blank out the weird situation with Oliver and focused on wrapping up her presents and writing little cards for each gift.

When a soft knock pulled her out of her thoughts though, she quickly looked up at the door. Luckily, it didn’t open immediately, so with a quick move, she threw her comforter over the unwrapped gifts on the ground and hid everything under it before she looked at the door again.  
“Yeah?”

The door slowly opened and Oliver’s head peaked inside, making her eyebrows shoot up slightly. She would have expected Raisa, or maybe even Moira, but the last person she expected to see at her door was Oliver. Not with the way he behaved around her the last few days.  
“Can I come in?” he tentatively asked and Felicity rolled her eyes slightly, but gave him a small smile.

“You won’t get tired using that line, do you?” she said and motioned for him to enter.

Oliver closed the door behind him as slowly as he opened it and walked into the middle of the room, clearly nervous. His hands were stuffed into the pockets of his Jeans, his body slightly shuffling from one foot to the other. When Felicity saw him standing there, looking almost exactly like he did after he came to her when she walked in on him and that girl, she had to smile slightly. Nervous and embarrassed Oliver looked kind of cute, she had to admit. Not that she would ever tell him that.  
“Am I interrupting you?” he asked her, making Felicity wonder what he might be up to. He never behaved like that around her, let alone come to her room to chit-chat.

“No, I was just – “ she began, motioning to her Laptop that sat on the desk, “ – never mind. What’s up?” she asked him and took a seat on the bench at the foot of her bed, her eyes straight on Oliver who still stood in the middle of the room, shifting from one foot to the other like a ship in rough water.

He gulped and Felicity could see his fingers rub together slightly. “I… I wanted to apologize… for what you saw.” he told her, his face bright red, unable to look her in the eyes for more than a few seconds.

It took Felicity a few moments to realize what Oliver was talking about.  
“You have nothing to apologize for, Oliver. Like I said, it’s your decision how you spend your afternoons, or with who, for that matter. If there’s someone having to apologize it’s me, for storming into your room like that.” she told him and for a moment, it actually surprised herself at how confident she was able to speak to him, and about the incident. Seems the forced distraction from Oliver worked well over the last few days.

“That’s not true, Felicity,” he began and took two steps forward to sit down next to her. Felicity, surprised by his sudden movements, slid over to the far corner of the bench, giving him space to sit down. “You are right, I should have locked the door. But more than that, I shouldn’t have brought her here, I… I wasn’t thinking straight that day, and I’m sorry.”

If Felicity could have felt even more confused than at that moment, she would have been. “No offense, but… Why are you telling me this, Oliver? And why are you apologizing to ME?” she asked him, clearly confused.

“Because I know I hurt you.” he bluntly replied, making Felicity’s eyes go wide in shock, before she looked away from him. “I could see it in your eyes. I hurt you and I’m sorry. And I hope you can forgive me.” he almost whispered, his voice uncertain and full of nervousness.

 

Felicity had no idea how to react. She was confused by his sudden change and the fact that he came to her to talk. She was confused by the fact that he apologized to her, twice, by now. But most of all, she was shocked that Oliver could so easily read her. She tried badly to hide the hurt and pain inside her and not let him see it because it would have showed him she had more than just (almost-) brotherly feelings for him. She didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of knowing he could easily wrap her around his finger.

Trying to save herself, she gave him a hard look and crossed her arms over her chest.  
“Why do you think you hurt me?” she almost snapped at him, trying to sound annoyed but failing badly.

“Felicity,” Oliver began and took a breath before he looked up at her. One look into his eyes and Felicity instantly felt her features soften, but her nervousness rise as well. “I know you like me. I’m not an idiot. I see the way you look at me when you think I don’t notice. How I know that? Because I do the same with you.” he confessed and Felicity had to force herself to not let her mouth hang open at his statement. For a moment she wanted to disagree with him, laugh it off, but she didn’t have it in her. In fact, words seemed to have failed her entirely. So she just stared at Oliver, feeling her own heart beating at rapid speed in her chest.

“What do you want, Oliver?” she suddenly whispered, her voice at the verge of breaking, the lump in her throat getting bigger and bigger. “Do you want me to confess that I like you? Fine, I do! Do you want me to confess it hurt me when I saw you and that girl? Yes, it did! What now? Are you going to laugh at me for liking you? Are you going to ignore me again like you did after you kissed me? I don’t need that, Oliver! I don’t want you to ignore me, or act weird around me, so please could we forget this conversation and the fact that I saw you and this girl and go back to behaving normal around each other?”  
Oliver could see she fought hard to hold back the tears and had even more problems keeping her voice steady. When he grabbed her hand and pulled it in his lap, Felicity took a deep breath. She didn’t look up at him, her head hanging low, eyes facing her lap.

 

“Hey, I don’t want you to feel bad about your feelings. And I don’t want you to forget anything.” Oliver told her with a voice so soft it surprised Felicity.

“Then what do you want?” she asked him after wiping away the tears on her cheeks with the sleeve of her shirt. Not very ladylike, but she couldn’t care less at that moment.

Oliver took a deep breath, considering Felicity’s question. What did he want? He honestly had no idea. He didn’t even think it through before he walked over to her room and knocked on her door. He just felt the need to finally talk to her, clear things up between them, at least partially. But he never thought about what he wanted, or what the outcome of their conversation could be.  
“I want you to know I care about you, Felicity… a lot.” he told her and wrapped her palm in both his hands. “A lot more than I’m ready to admit, and… I don’t want that to be ruined between us.” he admitted and Felicity looked up at him for a second, trying to read anything on his face, in his eyes. But what she saw only confused her even more. She could see honesty in there, sincerity, and even a little bit arousal. Things that all didn’t make sense to her, because Oliver was looking at HER, and Felicity knew the women he liked to surround himself with. And she surely wasn’t one of them.  
“But I just can’t give in to these feelings. You are only 16 years old, and even though you’re often more mature than I am, it’s still illegal. And we both could get in huge trouble. Besides, I don’t think Mom and Dad would ever approve of that. Not as long as you’re living under our roof, though.” Oliver sighed and with every sentence he spoke, he could watch Felicity’s face fall even more.

 

Sure, she knew all these things already. She had thought about the impossible possibility that Oliver might like her back thousands of times already. But all these thoughts have always been accompanied by the reasons why it could never work out between them. Biggest one being the fact that Oliver could end up in jail if someone reported them, even if she told the authorities it happened with her consent. And of course she didn’t want that.

“Please don’t cry, Felicity. I don’t know what to do when you cry.” Oliver confessed and pulled her in for a hug, but she pushed him back.

“Could you… please go, Oliver. I need time to think.” she told him with a broken voice, processing everything that Oliver told her. Everything she already knew. Oliver reluctantly got up from the bench and with a sigh, he turned and left her room.

 

After crying for almost 30 minutes, silently, of course, so Thea wouldn’t be alerted and dash into her room, Felicity calmed herself. After wiping her nose and taking a few deep breaths, she knew she needed to form a plan. Oliver cared about her; that was the information that stuck with her the most from all of the things he had told her. The rest she knew already anyway. And it wasn’t that she expected him to ask her to start a relationship or something. She wasn’t stupid. Sometimes a bit naïve, yes, but not stupid. But it all didn’t change the fact that he also told her she was legally too young for him and he wouldn’t risk anything. So she needed to find a way to manage living with him. After all, she was stuck at least another two years with him and her foster family, not that she complained one bit. She just needed to find a way to behave more normal again around him.

 

The following days, Oliver didn’t avoid her like the plague any more, but he didn’t stare her down anymore either. He almost went back to his normal, friendly but still a bit distant behavior with her. On one hand Felicity felt relieved, because she knew she wouldn’t have been able to keep her façade if Oliver would have lurked around her all the time. On the other hand it made her sad, because she missed their little flirts like the ones in the morning, when she fed the horses and he returned from his run. The private talks didn’t end, though.

Actually Oliver behaved friendly and affectionate as ever when he was alone with her. His whole demeanor with her only changed whenever other people were around them. And as much as it confused her, Felicity had to admit that it kind of helped her, too. Making normal jokes and talking casually felt a lot easier than trying to steal glances of the other, always hoping she wouldn’t get caught by either of the Queen heads or, even worse, Thea. And Oliver keeping his distance while others were in the room with them, at least enough distance so it wouldn’t look suspicious, helped her focus on other things than just Oliver for a moment.

After a few days, both of them fell into kind of a routine and Felicity had to admit, that even though her feelings were still very much there, she felt a lot better than just a few weeks ago, when she had no idea how to behave around Oliver.  
He completely stopped bringing women to the Mansion after their talk. Felicity was even sure he stopped dating altogether; because the only times he left the Mansion was when Tommy picked him up to head out for College or Drinks with their buddies. She saw him at the Mansion during the weekends a lot more often now, too. So much that even Thea started mocking him at some point, accusing him of becoming a grumpy anti-social and that Tommy would need to find a new Party-buddy soon.

 

 

On Christmas Eve the Queen Mansion was filled with the most amazing smell, coupled with lovely Christmas tunes coming from nearly every room in the Main level. Raisa and her team had done a superior job setting up the table and preparing an incredible Christmas dinner. Besides her, Tommy was the only non-official family member who was invited to eat with them. As soon as he arrived, Thea, dressed in a super tight – and probably way too short for a family dinner – black dress, stormed to the door to answer it. Her Heels made her a few inch taller and stretched her legs impressively, so much, that even Felicity stared at them for a moment. Tommy’s eyes lingered on the younger Queen’s ass a little longer than appropriate, but when Felicity gave Thea a thumb up, Thea knew she had made an impression on her brother’s best friend.

“Wait till you see what I got you for Christmas.” Thea thought to herself with a smirk when Tommy took a seat opposite of her at the table.

 

The Dinner had been the most incredible one Felicity had ever had since her parents passed away. Everyone shared lovely stories about their childhood and Felicity got to tell about her parents, turning the attention of the entire table on her while she spoke.

The conversation turned a little serious, though, when Oliver and Tommy announced they had some news to share. Everyone looked up from their Dessert and tried to make out what kind of news the men were talking about. Oliver gave Tommy a short look, who nodded back. Then Oliver looked at Moira and Robert and began to speak.  
“Tommy and I will be going on a vacation next year. Since Malcolm expects him to take over the Company in a few years and I will get to work for QC then, too, we won’t have time for longer vacations or holidays any more. So we decided to take the chance as long as it’s still there.” Oliver told his parents and everyone stopped eating. Thea shot Felicity a surprised look, who just shrugged her shoulders.

“What do you mean by vacation?” Moira asked her son with a small smile, but a curious tone after she wiped her mouth on a napkin.

“We want to travel through Europe, see as much as we could.” Tommy threw in.

“How long do you plan to travel? Europe is a large continent.” Robert added, curious to hear what the men had planned.

 

“One year, starting next May.” Oliver replied and if it had been silent at the table before, it turned dead quiet after that. Thea stared at both men with pure shock in her eyes before she looked to an equally shocked Felicity. Moira and Robert shared a quick look before both turned their attention to Tommy and Oliver again.

“One year is a long time, Oliver. Have you really thought this through? I do agree that now is the best time for this, but do you think it’s wise to leave your family for so long? What about College?” Robert asked.

“We can study online, we already talked to our Professors. There are plenty of students who study but don’t personally attend the College, so that’s no problem. And of course we can Skype or call all the time.” Oliver replied, keeping his attention solely on his parents. He knew if he had looked over the table, he would have seen two very shocked and sad faces staring at him, and he wasn’t sure if he could stand that.

Tommy and Oliver kept explaining their plans for the Tour through Europe and all the stations they definitely wanted to visit. Thea and Felicity had completely zoned out of the conversation after that, each one silently staring onto their plates, giving each other strength by holding hands under the table.

 

Right after Dinner, Moira led them to the large living room to sit together around the large tree. Tommy’s and Oliver’s announcement had added a weird feeling over the evening, but Moira managed to turn the attention of everyone back to the topic at hand. At least partly, in Felicity’s and Thea’s case.

Several large piles of presents had been stacked around the tree and when everyone had taken a seat, Moira started handing out the presents. Felicity immediately spotted the gifts she had gotten for everyone, wrapped in a delicate gold paper with a pink bow. It had taken her several hours to get everything wrapped up properly, but now she was excited and a little bit anxious to see if everyone like their gifts. It also helped her not to think about the news-bomb Tommy and Oliver had just dropped on them half an hour ago.

 

The more gifts Moira handed out to everyone, the larger the pile in front of Felicity grew. She didn’t expect to get any presents at all from the Queens. Since they basically took her into their family like another child and even let her life off their money, she was already so grateful that she would have been totally okay to just sit there and watch everyone unwrap their gifts that she got them. But with the large pile of gifts sitting in front of her now, she had no idea where to start.

Everyone began to unwrap their presents and beside the obvious ooooh’s and ahhhh’s, Felicity could also hear a laugh or chuckle here and there. She just barely had the chance to take in what everyone got for each other since her own gifts screamed for attention as well.

Felicity was busy unboxing a heavy, flat box when Oliver suddenly made a loud gasp next to her.

“Dude!!!! No way!” he called out at Tommy, staring at him with wide eyes and then back to the open box that he held in his hands.

Tommy only grinned at him and laughed lightly.  
“Oh, that’s not from me. That’s from Felicity.” he told his best friend with a wink and turned his attention to the present in his lap again. Thea had gotten him a gorgeous button down shirt and as soon as he pulled it out of the box, an envelope under it caught his attention. The words “Do not open before back home!” made him look up in surprise, earning a mischievous grin and wink from Thea.

Oliver’s shocked eyes immediately found Felicity’s and she couldn’t hide the blush that started coloring her cheeks. She lifted her shoulder slightly and bit on her lip while Oliver’s eyes switched from the Baseball to her. Seeing him liking the present so much made her proud, but she couldn’t stand him looking at her like that, in front of the whole Queen family. Not after what he just announced.

 

In the end, it took them all more than 2 hours until all gifts had been unboxed, hugs and thanks been given and gifts shown to others. Felicity ended up with a few new clothes from Moira and Robert, her own brand new custom made Western saddle for Castiel from Thea and a personalized Poker case from Tommy. He gave her a sheepish wink when she unboxed it and Felicity couldn’t hold back a laugh at that. Raisa gave her a hand carved wooden horse for her bookshelf that Felicity loved the moment she saw it.  
The only person she didn’t get anything from was Oliver.

 

After he unwrapped the Baseball that she had given him and stared at her in shock at the gift, he kept his head down and his eyes away from her the entire evening. Felicity knew he liked his gift because he kept twisting it in his hand over and over the entire night; so much that even Tommy mocked him at some point, telling him he would rub off the autograph if he kept twisting it for some more hours. But he never looked at Felicity again that evening, and it made her sad. She didn’t expect to receive anything from him by all means, actually she didn’t expect any of these awesome gifts she got, but the more boxes she unwrapped, the more she got excited what Oliver might have gotten for her. To end up empty handed when it came to him kind of hurt her now. Maybe he thought she wouldn’t get him anything and he decided against a gift then as well. Or maybe he didn’t want to get her a gift in the first place, Felicity didn’t know. But it made her sad nonetheless.

So sad, that she excused herself off to her room as the first person of the night, telling them she had a slight headache. Everyone wished her a good night and Raisa helped her get all the gifts upstairs. Shortly before she left the living room, she shot one last glance towards the Queen Family sitting around the tree and for a mere second, she met Oliver’s gaze. He looked sad and guilty, even a little embarrassed, but Felicity was too tired and too sad to care or think about that too much. The evening had started out absolutely amazing, until Oliver announced he would be gone for an entire year, and then was the only person who didn’t get her anything.

She just wanted to go to sleep quickly and then try out her new saddle with Castiel the next morning, leaving the world behind for at least an hour or two. She had gotten the stallion a brand new Halter and Blanket with his name engraved for Christmas and that present needed to be delivered, as well.

 

**\--------------------------**

 

Tommy excused himself from the Party a while later. He wasn’t really on family terms with his father, but Malcolm expected him to be at home the next morning so they could at least exchange gifts and have breakfast together, so Tommy gave everyone a hug, grabbed his gifts and headed home.

As soon as he arrived at the Merlyn Manor and got to his room, he kicked off his shoes and got himself ready for bed. Just when he was about to doze off, Thea’s gift came to his mind. Practically jumping out of bed, he stormed over to his desk and grabbed the box he got from her. The envelope still sat safely hidden under the shirt and he grabbed it and headed back to the bed. Sitting down, he slowly opened it to find a folded letter and another envelope in it. As soon as he unfolded the letter, he could see Thea’s significant handwriting.

 

_Remember the day at the Mall, when I invited you to my birthday Party?  
You wanted to know what was in my Agent Provocateur bag that day. ;-)_

_Merry Christmas,  
Thea_

 

Tommy quickly grabbed the other envelope and impatiently ripped it open. But as soon he pulled out 3 black and white pictures of Thea, dressed in 3 different, very revealing and damn sexy lingerie sets, he froze on the spot.  
“That little vixen!” Tommy mumbled to himself, unable to look away from the pictures. He had to admit, Thea had been his weak spot for quite a while now. Especially since her birthday party. But with her big brother being his best friend, Tommy was smart enough not to make a move on the younger Queen. Plus, there was still that age difference. Thinking about it, Tommy laughed slightly.  
“How crazy, Ollie and me once again having the exact same problem.” he thought to himself before safely tucking away the pictures in his nightstand. He made sure no one could find them, but he could pull them out and have a look at them whenever he wanted to, as well.

 

**\--------------------------**

 

The next morning, it wasn’t Felicity’s alarm clock that woke her, it was Oliver’s voice and soft shake of her shoulders. At first she thought she was still dreaming and didn’t want to wake up, but when the shaking became more persistent, she slowly opened her eyes, only to stare into the two most amazing set of blue eyes she knew.  
She looked up in shock, pulling the sheets up to her nose with a silent ‘eeep’.  
“Oliver! What are you doing here?” she mumbled through the sheets and looked over at her phone. “…at 8 in the morning???”

Oliver smiled at her. A bright, honest smile that showed his dimples and made her heart warm. It was a total contrast to the way he looked at her the night before.  
“You’ve got 30 minutes to get ready. I’m waiting downstairs. Dress casually, but warm.” was all he told her before he got up from the bed and walked out of the door.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oliver's long awaited christmas gift for Felicity. Enjoy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for your patience with me.  
> Now that NaNoWriMo is almost over, I can focus on my two current Stories more, meaning Updates will follow more frequently again now. :)

Felicity stared at the closed door of her room for what seemed like more than 5 minutes, trying to wrap her head around what Oliver just said. He obviously expected her to join him to something. The announcements and happenings of the night before still weighed heavily on her and for a moment she thought about ignoring Oliver’s order and just roll over and sleep another hour before her Alarm would go off and she could go downstairs to get Castiel ready for a trail ride in the woods.

But the hopes of maybe spending some time alone with Oliver got ahold of her and before she knew it, her feet had carried her to her bathroom and under the shower. Getting road-ready in 20 minutes would be hard to manage, but she had had less time in the past, so that wasn’t too much of a task. Finding the right clothes though, was.

After tying on almost 20 different Sweaters, she finally settled on the new Cashmere Pullover Moira had given her the night before, paired with black skinny Jeans and her brand new knee high winter fur boots. Giving herself a quick once over, Felicity realized that she looked really good, a lot better than she expected. The black Jeans and grey boots made her legs look incredibly long and the dark grey sweater fitted her perfectly. Her hair pulled up in a ponytail, she threw everything she thought she’d need into her bag, grabbed her coat and made her way downstairs.

Oliver already waited for her at the door and if she guessed his stare right, he liked what he saw. With a slight blush on her face she made her way down the stairs and walked over to him.  
“Care to share where we’re going?” she asked him, but Oliver shook his head with a proud smirk and led her out the door.  
She followed him to the car and immediately took a seat when he opened the passenger door for her. As soon as he settled into the driver’s seat, Oliver steered the car off the property and out onto the street.

Their first stop had been at the local Coffee Shop where Oliver ordered her to stay in the car. After 5 minutes he returned with two large cups of coffee and handed her one.  
“You know, days that start without a cup of coffee usually turn out horribly.” he winked at her and steered the car out onto the road again.

 

10 minutes on the road Felicity could see the outskirts of Starling City, with Oliver heading straight for the Highway. She didn’t say anything but only looked straight at him. Oliver could feel her eyes on him and with a smile, he looked over to her.

“Did you really think I wouldn’t get you anything for Christmas?” he told her with a grin on his face that made Felicity suspicious.  
“Felicity, that Baseball… you got me the most amazing present last night. And even though I still can’t wrap my head around HOW you managed to get that ball, there’s no way I won’t give something back to you. But before you start arguing with me - I had it planned even before you got me that amazing gift, I just couldn’t give it to you last night. And honestly I didn’t even expect to get something from you, so please don’t think I’m feeling responsible to do this for you or something. Because I don’t. I want to. Give something to you. For Christmas, I mean. My god, am I babbling?” Oliver suddenly laughed and Felicity had to smile at that as well. That was usually her part, but she loved hearing Oliver do it, too.

“Doing what for me, Oliver? Where are we going?”

“You’ll see soon enough.” he smiled at her and steered his Porsche over the almost empty Highway. After two hours, they had to make a stop for gas and since Felicity was in a pouting and mocking mood because Oliver still wouldn’t tell her where they were going, she bought 30$ worth of Oliver’s favorite chocolate bars but didn’t share anything with him, making him growl whenever she moaned at the taste.

 

It was when they reached the City sign of Las Vegas that Felicity’s head snapped up. She looked at the road in front of them for a moment before she stared over to the driver’s side to see Oliver closely watching the road, even though he knew she was staring at him.  
“Spill it, Queen, NOW!” Felicity demanded with her arms crossed over her chest and Oliver could hear she wasn’t going to accept a ‘No’ for an answer any longer.

Oliver pulled over to the side of the road and looked straight at her as soon as the car came to a halt.  
“We’re going to visit your parents’ grave.” he told her with a straight face. The entire time he had planned this, he thought it was a great gift and would make her happy. But now with her sitting in his car, in the outskirts of Vegas, he had no idea how she would take it. Should he have told her in Starling City already, so they still had the chance to drive back? Did she even want him to come with her? Did she want to come here at all? Doubts started to cloud his mind, until he saw the first tears stream down her cheek. Felicity looked at him with a blank expression, tears streaming down her face and into her lap.

Oliver had no idea how to take it.  
“Felicity, please talk to me. I can’t stand to see you cry, and I’m feeling terrible not knowing if this was a good idea or a bad one. Should we go back home?” he asked her, clearly confused and overwhelmed at the crying brunette girl sitting on his passenger seat.

Felicity instantly started shaking her head and digged through her bag for a tissue. When she wiped her nose and dried her cheeks, she took a deep breath.  
“No, it’s just… it’s been so long since I last… it’s…. thank you, Oliver.” she told him, forcing a small smile.

Oliver let out a breath he kept holding since he pulled over to the side of the road and nodded slightly. He steered the car back on the road and through the roads, letting the navigation system guide him the way to the cemetery.

 

He quickly got out of the car and opened the door for her. As soon as she got out and Oliver locked the car behind her, she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a hug. It had been the first time for quite a while that they hugged like that and Oliver took in as much of it as Felicity did.

“Do you want to go alone?” he whispered into her hair but Felicity shook her head. She didn’t think she could do this alone, especially not after all these years from being unable to visit her parents. Without giving it another thought, Felicity grabbed his hand and interlaced fingers with him. Oliver gave her a warm smile and both made their way over the cemetery.

It took them almost 15 minutes to find the right grave since Felicity hadn’t been there in almost 10 years and quite a lot had changed during that time. In the end, it was the distinctive gravestone that helped her find it and Felicity stared at the grave for almost 15 minutes, not saying a word.  
At some point, Oliver let go of her hand and Felicity immediately wanted to grab it again when she saw him pull out something out of his jacket.  
He handed her a candle and lighted it.  
“I didn’t want you to come empty handed.” he smiled at her and watched her place the candle in front of the gravestone.

 

They stood there for more than 1 hour, without saying a word. Oliver’s feet were freezing, and he could see that Felicity was shivering as well, but he knew she needed that. She had always said she wanted to visit her parents’ grave and felt bad that she hadn’t had the chance to in the last years. And with all the events of the last months, Oliver was sure there was a lot on her mind that she wanted to share with her parents. So he forced himself to stand the cold wind and freezing feet.

 

When her head bowed down and she sniffed into her tissue, Oliver walked up to her and rubbed her arms in sympathy. Felicity turned around to him and broke down in tears, her hands clinging to his shirt and jacket while she sobbed.  
“Why do you have to go?” she suddenly whispered into his coat, making Oliver look down at her in surprise. He didn’t expect her to say anything like that in that moment. Actually, he didn’t expect her to say anything about it at all. Not with the way she had avoided looking at him the evening before, after he and Tommy announced their plans.

“Because this might be the only chance for me to do this Trip before work crashes down on me.” Oliver mumbled into her hair while she buried her hands in his coat, wrapping them around his chest. He could have sugar coated it for her, maybe told her he wasn’t sure about going, but he didn’t want to lie to her. Not about this, not after they had started re-bonding so recently.

“But why one year? One year is so awfully long.”

He laughed lightly at that, but didn’t reply. Instead, he kept stroking the back of her head, keeping his strong arms carefully wrapped around her.  
“Are you saying you’re going to miss me?” he mumbled with a smile making Felicity laugh slightly.

“I wouldn’t go that far.” she chuckled between sniffles. “But who will be there for me to mock then? Or wait for in the mornings after feeding the horses?”

“You have Ray.” Oliver offered but Felicity shook her head.

“Ray and I… it’s not what it might look like. He’s in love with someone else. We’re just friends.”

 

Oliver didn’t say anything to that, he just nodded slightly. Felicity didn’t give it any more thought, she just loosened his grip on Oliver and wiped her nose before fixing her face, removing the remnants of her tears.  
“Thank you, Oliver. Really… I didn’t expect… really, thank you. This means so much to me.” she told him, giving him a small, sad but honest smile.

“Oh, we’re not done yet.” Oliver suddenly smiled at her, grabbed her hand and walked her back to the parking lot. “There’s some people who can’t wait to see you.” he smiled and helped her into the car, ignoring her very confused looks.

 

Oliver ended up taking her to various places after they visited her parents’ grave. They spent a few hours at the Orphanage that first took Felicity in after her parents’ accident. Most of the staff remembered her very well and they were all delighted to see her having become such a lovely grown up woman.

After that, Oliver took her to her old address. The house had been sold years ago after her parents death and currently housed a family in it, but just seeing it again made Felicity smile and brought back memories. They spent almost 2 hours in the car in front of the house, talking about all the things Felicity did around the house when she was a little kid, until the neighborhood watch shooed them away.

 

It had been 7pm and the loud grumbling sound of Felicity’s stomach made them both realize they hadn’t eaten anything the entire day. Oliver took her to a Restaurant and spent the evening listening to her rambling about all the things she did as a kid and how amazing her parents had been. He barely got the chance to say anything but loved listening to Felicity speak so vividly and excitedly about her childhood. It was nothing compared to the brief story she shared with the Queen family over Dinner the night before and Oliver caught himself wondering if he had ever seen Felicity speak so openly and full of life. She had become more and more relaxed through the months since she first arrived at the Queen Mansion, but especially to Oliver it felt as if she was still holding back a bit. The only person he knew she talked openly to was Thea. Sometimes he caught the girls talking in either of their rooms and Oliver always wondered why Felicity was so different, so relaxed with Thea, but not with him. So seeing her talking so expressively and vivid, with only him at the table, made him smile.

When the waiter arrived and offered them each a glass of their best House Red, Oliver was about to decline when Felicity accepted with a smile and thanked the waiter, who quickly left the table. She had to bite her lip and hold back a grin when Oliver gave her a pointed look. In the end, Felicity drank 3 glasses of wine whereas Oliver switched to water after the first one. He had to promise her not to tell Moira about the wine and after Felicity grinned and threatened to tell Moira and Robert about his sex-incident and his unlocked room door, Oliver groaned and nodded in defeat.

 

They arrived back at the Mansion late at night with Felicity fast asleep in the passenger seat. The day had been exhausting to her and Oliver didn’t want to wake her up, so he gently carried her up the stairs and into her room. Felicity wrapped her arm around his neck and hummed slightly while Oliver carried her through the long hallway, careful not to make any sound. His parents were in on his plan and congratulated him for the lovely idea, so they knew it would get late for the two. But that didn’t mean they needed to see him carrying a sleepy Felicity to her room.  
He leaned down over her bed and pulled the comforter aside. Felicity never let go of his neck though and when he put her on the mattress and was about to leave, she grabbed his shirt to stop him.  
“Stay… please.” she whispered, making Oliver freeze on the spot. He hadn’t turned on the light and it was almost completely dark in her room, but Oliver could feel her breath on his neck and her hands gripping his shirt. He turned his head slightly, trying to make out anything of her face in the darkness.  
“Please, Oliver, just…” she whispered again, almost begging.

Oliver thought about shaking his head and just let her get back to sleep again, but after the amazing day they had spent together and the way she opened up to him he couldn’t deny her this wish.  
Truth was, he couldn’t deny it himself. The thought to be so close to her for an entire night, to share the bed with her was so strong inside him, he couldn’t have walked out of the room, even if he wanted to. So Oliver nodded and whispered a low “Okay.” before he let go of her and felt her instantly loosening her grip on him. He walked through the room to close the door and also made sure the connecting door to Thea’s room was closed as well. He could hear her moving around on the bed and assumed she was kicking off the comforter and daytime pillows. As soon as he reached the foot of her bed, he kicked off his shoes and took off his coat. He had no idea what to do with his Jeans and Shirt, but since sleeping in Jeans was crazy uncomfortable, he also took it off, as well as his socks. After fighting an inner battle with himself, the button down shirt went off as well, leaving him in his boxers and white T-Shirt. He could do this, no big deal.

He slowly walked over to the side of the mattress and moved the sheets to the side to slip under it.

 

Oliver hadn’t been this nervous to get in bed with someone since his teenage times and he had no idea why. Felicity probably was fast asleep already and he could just lay here, get some good amount of sleep and slip out into his own room first thing the next morning. Willing himself to relax, he slid deeper into the mattress and got himself comfortable. The fact that everything smelled of Felicity didn’t help him to calm his racing mind, though.

Just when he was about to drive off to sleep, he felt movement to his left side. Because they were sharing one large sheet, Oliver could immediately feel when Felicity scooted closer to the middle of the mattress. He had turned on his side, facing her, and instantly smelled the scent of her shampoo becoming stronger. He fully realized what Felicity was doing when the ends of her hair started tickling his face and her butt bumped into his left hip. Oliver froze on the spot, even stopped breathing for a moment, waiting for any more movements from her, but after she settled into the mattress and let out a content sigh, nothing else happened. Their close proximity made him feel the heat that radiated from her back and legs and Oliver had to swallow the lump that had formed in his throat by now. Why the heck was he so nervous? He had slept next to plenty of women already, even next to Thea, and he never felt this uneasy and tense.  
“Get a grip, Queen.” he thought to himself and took a deep breath.

Oliver allowed himself to breathe again after a few moments when he could hear her breathing started to become more deep and slow. She had stopped moving altogether now, only her feet twitching from time to time. He turned on his side as well, facing her back, but keeping a respectable distance between them.  
It took him a good 10 minutes until he had calmed himself down and could finally drift off to sleep.

He almost didn’t realize the movement, until he felt Felicity’s hand move around behind her, obviously looking for something, waking him up again in the process. Her breathing was still low and deep and her movements slow, but it didn’t seem as if she was just routing around in her sleep. As soon as she got ahold of his arm that rested on his hip, she pulled it over her waist and placed his hand on her stomach. That’s when Oliver realized she was only wearing her bra and panty. His naïve mind had thought she would either sleep fully clothed, or in some kind of pajamas. This, he realized, this could turn out to a real problem for him now.

His fingers didn’t move an inch as soon as they made contact with her stomach and Felicity only put her hand over his but didn’t do anything else. After she let out a small sigh, the movements in front of him stopped again. Oliver was way too wired to fall asleep now, though. With her almost naked body pressed against his and his hand wrapped around her naked waist, he had to fight off the major erection that started building its way. He didn’t want to jump out of the bed but waking her up with this thing poking in her spine wasn’t an option either. So he forced himself to think of the most boring things in life until he had regained control over his body – at least partially.

10 minutes later, Oliver gave it another try to fall asleep. He was exhausted, too. Sitting behind the steering wheel for almost 6 hours, after getting up at 7 in the morning turned out to be pretty exhausting, even though he had an amazing day with Felicity. He hated to see her cry, but he loved making her smile. And he realized that it had been quite a while since she last smiled so honestly for him. Making a mental note to make her smile a lot more often, Oliver let himself relax, ready to drift off to sleep.

“Please don’t ignore me again.” Felicity suddenly whispered into the darkness of her room, knowing Oliver had heard her.

“Never.” he whispered back and kissed her head softly. “Promised.”

Felicity only nodded, unable to say anything else. For the moment, all that mattered to her was Oliver sleeping closely pressed to her back, knowing he wouldn’t treat her like she was nothing to him any more.

 

It was the squeaky voice from Thea that ripped her out of her sleep the next morning. The younger Queen had just jumped the edge of her mattress and loudly announced a ‘good morning’ to Felicity. A quick look to her right side showed an empty spot next to her. Part of her was glad Oliver wasn’t there, or they’d have some major explaining to do to Thea, but the other part secretly hoped to wake up next to him, just to see how that would feel, at least once.  
Luckily, Thea only asked if Oliver bored her all day and after Felicity told her he’d taken her to visit her parents’ grave, Thea decided to change her focus to a more interesting topic.  
“We gotta get the horses ready. YOU have to try out the new saddle and I have to tell you some news... about the special gift I gave away on christmas eve.” Thea grinned and waggled her eyebrows. Felicity rolled her eyes but had to chuckle nonetheless.

 

Deciding to pack up breakfast so they could make a stop on their Tour and eat then, the girls got their horses ready and headed out before Moira or Robert could request their presence at the breakfast table.  
They were just barely in the saddle and a few steps into the trail when Thea gave Felicity a wide grin.  
“Got home late last night, huh? I didn’t even hear you coming back.”

“Yeah, it uh... had been a long day.” Felicity blushed and had to busy her hands with Castiel’s mane so Thea wouldn’t see her nervously fidgeting around.

“So you guys had fun?”

“Yeah, it was a great day. I had fun.” she smiled, probably more to herself than to her best friend, but Thea caught it nonetheless.

“Come on, it’s my brother we’re talking about. It wouldn’t surprise me if he dragged you into some Sports Bar, ordered you a pitcher and then tried to explain you the rules of Football.” Thea joked over her shoulder, earning an eye-roll from Felicity.

“Your brother is a lot sweeter and nicer than you give him credit for.” Felicity replied.

“You only say that because you love him.” Thea smirked, making Felicity stare in shock for a moment.

“Anyway, what about the news you needed to tell me?” Felicity asked her, trying hard that Thea wouldn’t realize she was trying to change the topic. She really didn’t need any more pressing questions from Oliver’s little sister regarding that topic.

“Oh, right!” Thea excitedly announced, a wide almost evil grin spreading on her face. “Well you know that I slipped the photos into Tommy’s gift, so he would only see them at home, right?”  
Felicity nodded, remembering Thea’s silly idea and the way too funny and even more inappropriate afternoon they had spent taking and printing these pictures. “Well Tommy received them, obviously. And early last morning, I received a text from him.” Thea grinned.

“Oh god, please don’t tell me he sent you some naughty pic in return! If so, I do NOT want to know.” Felicity groaned and earned a giggle from her best friend.

“Not quite,” Thea laughed, “but he did send me some texts, complaining about how I should watch out because apparently I’m playing with fire to whom I may or may not have returned that I like it hot.” Thea grinned and Felicity laughed out so loud that they even scared off a few birds in the trees.

“Holy crap Thea, you’re going to give that poor man a stroke!”

“And what does he do to me every day? I swear to god, next time I see him I’ll drag him into a corner and climb him like a palm tree.”

If anything, that made Felicity only laugh even harder. Thea kept on rambling over how hot Tommy was and how she was planning to seduce him even more on New Years even when Felicity suddenly realized that they hadn’t done any plans for New Year’s at all.  
“Where are Oliver and Tommy going?”

“To Verdant, with us. Thanks to you, by the way.” Thea proudly announced, making Felicity’s eyebrows shoot up. “Tommy told me yesterday. Apparently you beat someone important at a Poker game and one of the guys who wasn’t able to beat him for months, heard about your big win from Tommy. So he said he wanted to meet the elusive Poker Queen who was able to beat the ‘Un-beatable’ and put us on the guest list for the Verdant New Year’s Party, along with Ollie and Tommy.” she grinned over her shoulder, waiting for Felicity’s reaction.

“But... we’re not even old enough to be in there, Thea! And I highly doubt Oliver and Tommy would want to babysit us all night with they very well could be out there with other women… older women, I might add.” she replied, giving Thea a look over her glasses.

“We’re on the guest list already, that’s all that matters. Besides, the dresses we’ll be wearing with scream nothing but _‘pay attention to us’_ that neither of them will have the time to leave our side, trust me.” Thea grinned back.

“I don’t even have a dress. Thea. And what makes you think I’ll wear one that’s near to be indecent? If anything, I want to have a good time, not having to fear about my dress sliding over my butt all night long.” Felicity almost pouted, making Thea snort.

“We’re going dress shopping tomorrow. And you and me will find the most stunning looking but still appropriate enough dresses that’ll make both guys’ attentions glued to us all night. Promised. They won’t even have enough time to think about their drinks because their eyes will keep glued to our asses.” Thea grinned at her and waggled her eyebrows, earning a defeated sigh from Felicity.

 

The girls laughed and joked for another hour until Thea’s stomach made a loud grumbling sound. They let the horses graze for a bit and settled on a tree stump.  
“So… what are your thoughts about Ollie and Tommy leaving for a whole year?” The asked her best friend and while she licked her fingers from the honey that coated the sweet treats Raisa had packed them.

“I’d say they’re the same as yours.” Felicity only replied with a small frown on her face, knowing Thea would miss Tommy just as much as she would miss Oliver. Up until that moment she had tried to avoid thinking about the whole thing too much, but on the other hand she knew all too well how fast May would approach and that there actually wasn’t much time left for them.  
“And I’ve already talked to Oliver about this… they won’t change their mind. He said it’s basically their last chance on a long trip before job duty calls on them, so they decided to take it.” she shrugged.

Thea eyed her for a moment, taking in the information Felicity had just announced. “You sound like you’re totally unaffected.”

“Of course I’m not, Thea! Just as affected as you are! But what do you think should we do about this? There’s no way to change their minds and honestly? I don’t want to be so selfish. Oliver is right, if Tommy and him have to take over positions at their parents’ Companies in the next years, when should they do such a trip then?” she sighed and threw Castiel a piece of her bread. The stallion quickly walked over and snagged it, before he loudly announced his demand for another piece.

“Then what should we do? Just let them leave in May and not see them for an entire year?”

Felicity frowned, but nodded slightly. “That’s probably the only thing we could do. And don’t even think about sabotaging their trip, because I’m not going to help you with that. Besides, there’s still Facetime and Skype.” Felicity shrugged. “AND it’s not that they’re our boyfriends, so the whole conversation we’re having right now is pretty pointless anyway.” Felicity added and offered Castiel the rest of her bread.

“We could work on that… until they’ll leave in May, I mean.” The grin that she sent Felicity was one that made her a little nervous.

“I’m not going to seduce Oliver and then watch him leave for 12 months in May. And you would be well advised to do the same, Thea. Trust me, you wouldn’t want to fall in love and then having to leave the guy again. Been there, done that.” Felicity frowned. “Let’s just have a good time until they’ll leave. We don’t even know how they think about us. We’re a lot younger anyway. What if Tommy is just teasing you?”

“He isn’t like that.” Thea shot back, trying to defend him.

“You very well know that he is, Thea. And Oliver’s no different, though he already knows how I feel about him. And honestly, I expect him not to behave like an idiot around me because of that. But Tommy? All he knows is you’ve been teasing him with some hot pics, but have you told him how you really feel already?”

Thea’s wordless stare and a lowered head told him everything she needed to know.  
“Yeah, that’s what I thought. So instead of plotting some evil plan to stop them from doing that tri, I would focus on figuring out how to tell Tommy how you really feel about him. Before it’s too late. And even if he doesn’t feel the same for you, you at least got your feelings out on the table. The rest is up to him then.” Felicity told her and with a small, supportive smile.

“How come you’re so mature and precocious all of a sudden?” Thea asked her with a slightly quirked eyebrow.

“Because I’m the older one of us.” Felicity grinned back.

When they both started to shiver, they quickly packed up all their stuff, mounted the horses again and took the long trail back to the Mansion. Since no one had called or texted them, they apparently weren't missed at the Mansion yet. So taking a little more time to talk privately and without prying eyes was greatly appreciated by the two.

 

On Monday morning, Thea was yet again the one to wake Felicity up. It seemed that every day to school Felicity had to drag her out of bed, but during summer and winter break, when they could actually sleep in, Thea usually was the one to get up in the earliest of dawn, as if they’d need all day to find a nice dress.

They did, as it turned out. Well, not really due to Thea’s fault, more like Felicity wasn’t happy with any dress Thea or the sales women handed her. Everything the clerks handed her was way too tame and conservative, even for Felicity’s liking. But everything Thea handed her barely covered her ass and she was sure she’d get stopped by the Police for public nudity even before they would be able to enter Verdant.

She was ready to give up and just put on anything Thea would lend her, when she let herself dragged into the last Store at the Mall. Thea quickly talked to the young redhead behind the counter while Felicity checked out some dresses. When the redhead nodded and grinned broadly though, while both her and Thea kept eye-contact with her, Felicity got a little nervous.

“Hey, I’m Carrie and we’re going to find you the perfect dress for tomorrow night.” the redhead proudly announced and didn’t even give Felicity the chance to protest when she dragged her to the large changing rooms in the back of the Store.

“Any color preferences?” she grinned and basically shoved Felicity into one of the empty rooms, earning a giggle from Thea.

“Uh…” Felicity replied, clearly confused for a moment while she looked from Thea to Carrie back and forth.

“Just bring whatever you can find.” Thea piped in, earning a bright grin and nod from Carrie who then disappeared just as fast as she shoved Felicity into the changing room.

 

Carrie returned a few minutes later and hung two dresses for Felicity into the changing room before vanishing off just as quickly as she appeared, giving Felicity time to fully check out the dresses.

She carefully stepped into the first one, an ivory, lacey longsleeve dress that ended mid thigh, and closed the zipper before she slowly ran her fingers over the soft material hugging her curves. The dress might be a little shorter than appropriate, but she couldn't deny that it really flattered her body and showed off just the right amount of skin in the right places and paired with the perfect set of High Heels, it would make her legs look miles long.

Felicity knew she shouldn't have Oliver in mind when buying a dress, but the thought of leaving an impression was too tempting for her. And with the fact that he would be leaving for a whole year in just a few months, she really needed to make a move soon, if she wanted him focused on her. She just wanted to leave a pretty good impression on him among all the other, older, beautiful women... at least once.

So she slowly stepped out to make use of the large mirror, right into Thea’s shocked face.  
“You look hot, Fee!” Thea told her with wide eyes while Felicity studied herself in the mirror.

“It looks great on you. But you should really try that other one.” Carrie smiled and pointed to the last dress in her changing room.

“Red really isn't my color.” Felicity shook her head, trying to avoid having to put on another dress, a deep red one, at that.

“Trust me.” Carrie smiled with a wink.  
Felicity sighed.  
They were right. She had never went dress shopping before and she didn't really know what to look for at all. Every time she needed help in the past, she had asked Thea. So accepting some advice from Carrie, who worked with these amazing dresses on a daily basis, might not be such a bad idea after all.

But when she stepped back into the dressing room and checked out the dress for the first time, her eyes widened in shock.  
The dress Carrie had picked out was a lipstick-red, head-turning style of a very tight, very curve-conforming bandage dress with an open, strappy back that sliced around each side. The amount of skin it showed on her back was almost twice as much as the dress she was currently wearing and the two thin straps attaching the front with the back didn't hide much nor did they promise any support of keeping the dress where it should be.  
“I really can’t wear this.” Felicity gasped when she held the hanger in front of her and had a quick look in the mirror.

“Just try it!” Carrie and Thea insisted in unison from outside.

 

Felicity sighed loudly and was about to protest again but in the end, she took off the ivory dress and tried on the almost indecent piece of clothing hanging in front of her. The back straps turned out to be a small struggle, and she had to pull here and there to get everything situated where it belonged, but in the end, she succeeded and closed the small zipper on her lower back.

When she turned to the mirror though, her eyebrows shot up. Except for the bright red color that she still needed to get used to, the dress actually looked absolutely awesome on her. The back, though, made her _'eeep'_ slightly, earning a chuckle from Carrie on the other side of the curtain.  
“I can't wear this in public...”Felicity said, checking herself out in the mirror once again before she shoved the curtain aside to face the two waiting women. Her half naked upper back, only covered by two red straps running over her shoulders made her shake her head viciously.

“Oh. My. God.” Thea loudly announced and clapped her hands excitedly when she got her first look at Felicity and the little piece of red fabric that was wrapped tightly around her.

“Wow,” Carrie said. “That looks stunning on you.”

“You are SO going to buy this, Fee!” Thea squealed and watched the younger Queen shoot forward and grabbing her wrist. Felicity let herself be pulled out of the changing room and in front of the large mirror. She took a few spins and turns and ran her hands over the tight, but very soft material of the dress. “I mean… it’s really pretty, but -”

“No buts,” Carrie interrupted, shaking her head. “That dress is 100% you.”

“She’s right. It’s perfect. Ollie’s gonna freak out.” Thea piped in with a wide grin and a nod.

 

She really shouldn’t buy that dress, not for the reasons at hand. But she neither could deny the fact that it looked absolutely stunning on her and for the second time, Felicity found herself wondering how Oliver would react if her saw her in it. But she also knew that a dress wouldn’t change his mind, or the law, for that matter. It would only trick her into some sort of relationship with Oliver that, as soon as the night was over, would be gone again as well.

But the longer she looked at herself in the mirror, the more she wanted Oliver to see her in it, have a great evening in it, just let loose for a night after all these months of stress, pain and hard work.  
She turned around one more time before she looked up at Thea’s and Carrie’s expectant smiles and stares.  
“Well, if you really think it’ll fit the occasion...” she began but both women cut her off immediately.

“It does!” both grinned.

“That Ollie is going to get an eyeful.” Carrie added with a wink.

 

 

 

On December the 31st, Thea told Moira they’d be spending the night at a small House Party of one of her classmates. Since both Robert and Moira had to leave early on January 1st for a business conference in Coast City, they agreed but told the girls to take care of themselves and have fun.

Since the girls couldn’t get dressed at the Mansion without raising questions from either Moira or even Raisa, Tammy offered them to change at his place and to head out from there. The girls happily agreed and quickly packed all the stuff they’d need to get ready and loaded everything into Thea’s BMW.

The drive to Merlyn Manor had been a short once since they were almost neighbors. Tommy and Oliver were still out to pick up their suits but Anna, the Merlyn maid who knew Thea since the day she was born, happily opened the door for them and helped them getting all their stuff into one of the guest rooms.

Taking a shower and both getting their hair done took them longer than they expected and when a soft knock and Tommy’s gentle voice pulled them both out of their doings, their heads both snapped up.  
“Ladies, it’s almost 8. You ready?”

The girls both eyed each other for a moment, taking in Thea’s half dressed state and Felicity’s current towel dress before they both laughed out.  
“Uhm… we’re on the guest list, right? Which means we could just head to the bouncer and get him our names, right?” Thea asked, giving Felicity a small shrug.

“Thea, that’s the point of a guest list, Speedy.” Tommy replied with a laugh.

“Well then... we’ll see you guys there, I guess.” she replied with a grin, earning a very confused look from Felicity.

“Alright, Ladies… take care. And if you need any help getting inside, tell the bouncer you belong to us.” And with another soft knock to the door, he was gone.

“Now we have time to get ready and have the chance for the perfect grand entrance.” Thea winked at Felicity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up, the New Year's Party. :)


	12. Chapter 12

In the end, it took them a little more than 2 hours till they sat in Thea’s car, parked in front of Verdant, with Felicity continuously plucking and tugging her dress in place while Thea stepped out of her driving flats and put on her blue Heels.  
“I can’t get out like that, Thea.” Felicity announced with a sigh and wrapped her black coat tightly around her.

Thea rolled her eyes and threw her flats onto the back seat. “Fee, we’re NOT having that discussion again. You have your coat until we’re inside so there’s no reason to whine around. And you even admitted it yourself - you look hot! So why not give Ollie something to remember?” she grinned.

Felicity was about to protest again but the hard look Thea sent her made her sigh in defeat.  
“Alright, then let’s get inside before I’ll change my mind again.”

 

The coats they wore luckily gave them a good amount of warmth and privacy on their way to the entrance but walking in High Heels on slightly frozen ground turned out to be a bigger problem than keeping other people's eyes off them until they reached the doors.

Luckily, Verdant had a separate VIP line so the girls didn’t have to wait in the long line of people waiting to get into the Club. The bouncer quickly looked them up and down after Thea announced that they were on the guest list and thanks to Thea’s impressive make-up skills and the 4 inch Heels each of them wore they didn’t look like the age they actually were. When the bouncer saw the names of the men accompanying them, he quickly removed the red rope with a smile and waved them inside.  
After another 3 minute fight with Felicity at the wardrobe, both girls finally entered the Club.  
Since every level of the Main area was absolutely packed with people already, both girls made their way over to the VIP Lounge, the only spot that still offered a little bit of space. Thea giggled profusely at all the heads the girls turned on their way to the stairs while Felicity tried to focus on the floor in front of her and not the many pairs of eyes on her.

 

“Oh. My. God!” Tommy announced loudly while the two women standing with them babbled some nonsense about nail polishes, making Oliver’s head as well as the girls’ that stopped talking mid-sentence, snap around to him in an instant.

“What?” Oliver called back.

But Tommy didn’t reply, he just smirked, turned slightly and pointed at the stairway leading to the VIP Lounge. Oliver’s eyes followed his motion until he spotted the two young women that were heading up the stairs, both dressed to the nines.  
“Holy shit!” he mumbled, and Tommy chuckled.

“You’re in so, so much trouble, buddy.” Tommy smirked and quickly shooed the girls away from their table by telling them their dates were on their way over and they would need the space. Not very gentleman-like, he had to admit, and under different circumstances he would have never let them go, but after having seen the dress Thea was wearing, there was no way she was going to stand anywhere else but next to him the entire evening.

 

Oliver’s mouth still hung open when Thea spotted her brother and Tommy, waving at them with a wide grin.  
“Time for your grand entrance. My brother may be dumb as a rock, but his eyes do work.” she mumbled at Felicity with an almost evil grin and pushed her towards the table where Oliver and Tommy stood.

Taking a deep breath, Felicity remembered what the sales woman told her… _chin up, chest out, shoulders back, stomach in._ and put on the brightest smile when she stepped closer to Oliver. She had forego the glasses in favors for contacts and even though it was still odd not having a pair of glasses on her nose, Felicity felt good.  
The moment she saw Oliver’s body completely freeze on the spot made her smile, knowing it was her doing.

“Hi.” she smiled and even though the music was loudly blaring through the speakers, Oliver apparently caught it.

But he didn’t reply; he just stared at her, completely ignoring the party people all around them, or his younger sister shamelessly flirting with Tommy. He only had eyes for Felicity.

She smiled at him and tilted her head slightly, trying to hide her nervousness. “Oliver?”

“Uh... sorry,” he said after clearing his throat before leaning in to hug her and kiss her cheek. “Hi.”  
“Felicity,” he began after he slowly pulled back from her and got a good look up and down her dress. “You look amazing.” 

“Thanks.” she smiled broadly at him and just realized that the added 4 inches of her Heels made her almost eye level with him, giving her a better chance to stare into his eyes for a little longer than she normally would.

She could hear Oliver gulp loudly when she turned her back to him and placed her clutch on the table, having a first good look around the Club. When she looked over her shoulder, back at him, suppressing a wide grin when she saw him nervously pulling on his tie while his eyes kept glancing down her back, she turned her attention towards him again.  
“Everything alright?” She tried to sound casual with a quirked eyebrow, leaning one arm on the table, forcing herself to hide a grin. The 500$ for that dress were SO worth its money already.

Oliver had to force his attention up to her face again not to be caught staring.  
“Yeah, uhm… your High Heels are really shiny.” he quickly said, making both look down her feet at the sparkling glitter Pumps she was wearing. The shoes were actually Felicity’s very first pick at the Mall. The moment she saw the Louboutin Platform Glitter Pumps in the Store window, she knew she had to buy them, no matter if they’d fit the dress or not. To her luck, they did - pretty well, at that.

“Thanks.” Felicity smiled at him, but when she saw the way Oliver’s eyes lingered on her lips a little longer than they usually did, his eyes almost shining with arousal, Felicity had to look away and clear her throat. The desire to just grab a Drink from a nearby table to loosen up her dry throat became bigger and bigger and she was ready to tell Oliver she’d head downstairs and grab something to drink, when she heard his loud voice erupting from beside her.

“What the hell are you wearing, Speedy?” Oliver loudly announced after he took in his little sisters’ skin tight bright blue lace dress.

“It’s called a dress, big brother. Your love wears one, too.” she smirked with a wave in Felicity’s direction, grinning and twirling around once more to show off the full effect of the blue Mini dress.

“I like it.” Tommy grinned and winked at Thea, earning a growl and glare from Oliver.

He decided to ignore Thea’s remark about Felicity being his ‘love’ but gave Tommy a hard look. “Yeah then why don’t you wear it instead and give Thea your suit?” he shot back loudly, clearly annoyed.

“Geez, relax, boys... we’re here to celebrate a fucking awesome year!” Thea squealed loudly and grabbed two champagne flutes from the tray the waiter passed them, handing one to Felicity.

Felicity gladly accepted the offered drink and downed it in one gulp, earning a surprised look from Oliver.  
“Dry throat.” she quickly told him when she set the empty glass on the table.

The moment his attention was back on her, Oliver completely relaxed again. Not wanting to argue with his little sister any more, AND because he really wanted to spend some time alone with Felicity, he gently grabbed her forearm and pulled her closer to his chest.  
Oliver leaned closer to her, his lips brushing her ear when he spoke “Want to go grab a drink?” he whispered, sending shivers down her spine. She gulped and had to close her eyes for a moment.

 _‘Keep yourself together, Felicity. You’re supposed to drive him crazy tonight, not the other way round!’_ she thought to herself before she steadied her grip on the table, grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the stairs.

“We’re getting something to drink. Save our spots at the table!” Felicity announced, leaving a surprised Tommy and a broadly grinning Thea behind.

She knew Oliver was watching her, she knew it like she knew he also saw the several other men staring at her while she walked over to the Bar. Oliver was right behind her, she could feel him holding contact with her all the time, but since she knew he was checking out her backside, she put a little more sway to her hips, just to be sure.  
“I’ve never seen you dressed up like that,” Oliver began when he stopped at the bar right next to her. “It’s... different.”

“Good different or bad different?” she asked him, her silver painted fingernails matching her shoes, slowly gliding up and down the lapel of his suit jacket. It was driving him insane - and that made her proud.

“Hot.” Oliver only replied, careful to stay as close to her as possible. When she felt him roughly grabbing her hip, pulling her flush with his body, while his arm sneaked around her lower back slowly, he caught Felicity by surprise for a moment.  
“I hope you don’t plan on teasing me like that all night, Felicity.” he growled in her ear before he watched her face again.

Felicity, keeping her best poker face on, only smiled at him. “But I didn’t even do anything yet.” she winked and turned to the barman to hand him a 20 for their drinks before she turned back at Oliver again.

“Felicity, I’m serious… don’t tease me like that”.” he almost growled, his eyes darkening to deep black pools.

“Or what?” she asked back with a small smirk playing on her lips. She didn’t even give him time to reply to that, she just handed him his Scotch and made her way back to the VIP Lounge again, leaving a completely baffled Oliver behind.

 

Throughout the evening Oliver and Felicity barely had the chance to talk. As soon as they arrived back at the VIP Lounge, Tommy already waited for her, a few other men in tow that she didn’t recognize.

“Hey, Felicity! Come on over!” he eagerly waved at her, a wide grin parked on his face.

Felicity quickly looked back at Oliver who just sent her a smile and nod before she walked over to the table, seeing how the men waiting next to Tommy shamelessly checked her out.

“So you are the incredible Felicity who was able to beat Ted after a few rounds of Poker?” one of the men asked her, his eyes clearly lingering on her cleavage.

Even though it made her nervous and the older men around her intimidated her a little, she stayed close to Oliver and pushed back her shoulders a little before she replied.  
“Not a few rounds of Poker. Only one.” she told him with an almost arrogant smile, looking him straight in the eye.

The man eyed her for a moment, clearly surprised by her fierceness before his lips curled up to a smile.  
He offered her his hand. “I’m Max. Max Fuller.”

“Felicity.” she smiled back and placed her freshly manicured fingers in his large hand.

“May I invite the Lady of the night to a Drink?” he leaned in and almost whispered to her. Felicity couldn’t hold back the blush that started to creep up on her face while Tommy watched Oliver closely. Besides the anger towards Max, that Oliver already had problems hiding from his face, Tommy could see Oliver’s hand resting on the small of her back. To a stranger, Oliver would have looked perfectly relaxed, but Tommy knew him too well. The way his shoulders went completely rigid and his eyes never left Felicity’s hand in Max’s told him exactly how tense Oliver actually was.

Felicity, however, was a little uncomfortable at first, but seemed to relax into the conversation with Max quickly. It made Tommy wonder if it was because of Max’s charme or maybe because Oliver kept physical contact with her all the time.  
“You may.” Felicity replied, somehow managing to sound way more confident than she felt. “After all, I was the one to beat your worst enemy.” she told him with a seductive voice and a wink that even made Tommy’s eyes shoot up in surprise. He hadn’t seen Felicity so confident and even seductive before and Oliver, apparently, neither. He completely stiffened next to her, anger starting to radiate from him when he saw the way Max looked at her. Tommy hadn’t seen his best friend so over-protective over a woman in many years and part of him wanted to laugh at the irony that now, out of all the woman that threw themselves on him, Oliver had to pick their 16-year old foster child, Thea’s best friend. But Tommy also knew his best friend well enough to know that if he didn’t intervene soon, Oliver could do something he’d regret pretty quickly, like ruining Max Fuller’s almost too perfect face.

“Why don’t we all go downstairs and grab something to drink?” Tommy loudly called over the table, forcing the attention of everyone surrounding the table on him.

“That is a brilliant idea, Merlyn!” Thea called and smacked Tommy on the butt, making him jump forward slightly in surprise. It happened rarely that a woman could surprise Tommy Merlyn, but Thea somehow managed to do it with just a simple slap on his butt. A mischievous grin parked on her face, Thea walked around the table, grabbed Felicity’s arm and headed to the stairs with he, leaving her half drunk Cocktail behind. Oliver was quick to down his Scotch before he followed them; after all, it looked like he’d need them. 

Thea leaned into Felicity when they walked away, whispering into her ear. “Move your hips girl, you have so many pairs of eyes on your ass right now you couldn’t even count them any more.”

Felicity laughed out loud and smacked her best friend on the arm when she saw her waggling her eyebrows with a grin. But in the end, she did like Thea said and put a little more sway into her hips, gracefully placing one foot in front of the other while walking to the stairs.  
Tommy, Oliver, Max and his buddies quickly fell in step with them, walking just a few feet behind the girls.

“Damn.” Max mumbled and shamelessly checked out Felicity’s rear side. As soon as Oliver caught it, he let out a growl that even Tommy could hear. He could see his best friends jaw working hard while Oliver’s fists clenched and unclenched continuously. Tommy knew it wouldn’t take much more and Oliver would punch Max right in the face.

 

When Max was about to quicken his step, probably to fall in step with the girls, Oliver quickly kicked out his foot, making Max trip over it and almost crash into one of the tables standing around. The girls stopped walking and looked around in surprise at the sudden noise behind them.  
“Man, are you crazy? I almost broke my nose!” Max yelled at Oliver who raised his hands in mock surrender.

“Not my fault. Maybe you should better watch your feet.”

“Maybe you should better watch your mouth, Queen.” Max snarled back.

“HEY!” Thea suddenly called out so loud and angry that all men instantly had her eyes on her. “If you don’t stop this bullshit immediately, Felicity and I will spend the rest of the night alone!” she yelled at them and waved a warning finger in everyone’s direction, not even caring that she was threatening the Club's Manager. Max and Tommy immediately straightened their backs as if they had gotten a serious ticking-off by their parents, while Oliver only rolled his eyes. He knew his little sister well enough to know that she could never stay far away from Tommy or him, especially not at a Party.

Giving every man a last hard stare, Thea turned on her heel again and walked down the stairs.

“What was that?” Felicity mumbled to her with a small giggle when they fought their way through the crowd on the main floor.

“It’s barely 11pm and they’re already starting to act like primates. Not going to take this shit, not during a New Years Party. So I had to use my loud voice.” Thea grinned proudly and successfully carved out a spot at the crowded bar. Felicity was right beside her and soon after that, 3 men in suits were standing behind them.

Felicity could feel a hand on her bare lower back and didn’t even need to look around to know Oliver was staying beside her, being the over-protective foster brother again. Or maybe he just wanted to keep physical contact with her, she had no idea. Either way, she liked feeling his hand on her bare skin, mentally thanking Carrie and Thea for talking her into buying the dress.

When she felt another hand finding its way on her ass, however, Felicity slowly looked over to her right side, seeing Max standing next to her, his eyes firmly on the barkeeper in front of them, a small smile on his lips. When he looked over to her, their noses just a few inches apart and him shamelessly staring at her lips, Felicity had to take a deep breath and gather her confidence for a moment before she leaned in to him. For a second she must have caught him off guard, making him expect she would kiss him. But when she aimed for the side of his face, Max stilled for a moment.  
“I would suggest you remove your left hand from where it’s resting right now if you want to leave this Party with all ten fingers.” Felicity whispered into his ear before she slowly pulled back, gave him a wink and turned her attention to the barkeeper again that Thea just managed to wave over.

The girls ordered their drinks and after an almost fight over who would be paying the bill, Tommy threw the barkeeper a 50 and shooed them up the stairs to the VIP Lounge again. It was way too crowded to move or even dance downstairs, so the girls eagerly walked ahead, their Cocktails safely in hand.

 

The men fell into an easy conversation while both Thea and Felicity casually leaned at the railing, swaying their hips to the music, casually sipping on their drinks, overlooking the crowd moving to the beat.  
“Thanks, by the way.” Felicity suddenly started beside Thea, making her best friend’s head turn around.

“You’re welcome.” Thea grinned back and shoulder bumped her. “For what?”

Felicity had to laugh at that. It was typical Thea and she had to admit that she really liked being out with her best friend, Tommy and Oliver in tow.  
“For putting up with me and dragging me here. Despite my protests I have to admit that this night is awesome.”

“You only say that because Oliver is following you around like a lovesick puppy.” Thea replied with a quirked eyebrow and a snort.

“He’s not a lovesick puppy. And he’s not following me around.” Felicity protested but Thea was having none of that.

“Yeah. Right.” she snorted and put her drink aside before grabbing Felicity’s to do the same with hers. “Dancefloor. Now.” she demanded and before Felicity could react or even protest, Thea already dragged her away from the table and down the stairs to the main floor.

 

The girls moved and gyrated their hips to the beat, arms locked while they swayed around each others. Thea had always been the more confident one when it came to dancing or partying in general, but the Champagne and Cocktail that Felicity had downed seemed to do the trick for her as well. Deciding not to care for a moment, Felicity let go, confidently moving her hips to the music. Her arms were high above her head, mimicking Thea’s movements. The girls laughed and mingled with the crowd on the dance floor, not realizing the several pairs of eyes on them.

Oliver tried to keep his stare casual, even though he couldn’t take his eyes off her. A big part of him just wanted to go downstairs and join her and press her swaying hips into his. He had never seen her move so sensually, gracefully. Hell, he had never even seen her dressed so hot before! Maybe it was a little more than he liked on her, since he had grown to love the natural, minimal makeup look on her, but damn, if she didn’t look fucking hot in that dress!

 

Tommy was casually watching the girls dancing downstairs, focusing on Thea and the way she gracefully swayed her hips from side to side, while Max and his buddies chatted about vacation ideas for the following year.  
When Max turned his attention away from the group for a moment and joined Tommy leaning on the railing, overlooking the dancefloor while he casually sipped on his drink. Oliver seemed to be busy watching Felicity dancing, so Tommy didn’t mind Max joining him. Maybe it could help him taking his mind off the pretty hot looking younger Queen for a moment.

After watching the girls dancing together for a moment, Max spoke up.  
“I swear to god, I’m going to bang the shit out of her before the night is over.” he told Tommy with a small shoulder bump, motioning to Felicity, who still kept sensually moving her hips with Thea on the dancefloor. Tommy was glad Oliver wasn’t in hearing distance, but it wasn’t like he would have stopped him if he would have punched Max after that comment anyway. Tommy badly wanted to tell him that it would cause him the biggest legal trouble if he tried to make a move on her, but then he would have revealed that Thea and Felicity were even too young to be at that Party at all and he really didn’t want to ruin their night and expose them. Even if it would have shut Max up and stopped him from shamelessly hitting on Felicity.

“I’m not so sure you’re her type.” Tommy tried to sound casual, even though Max’s shameless behavior made him angry.

“Oh I’m going to make her, no worries.” Max smirked and downed his drink before he gave Tommy a confident wink and turned his attention towards his buddies again.

 

Several women had tried to gain Oliver’s attention as soon as Felicity and Thea had left the table, even Amber, who still seemed dead set on making it serious between them, even though Oliver told her otherwise right after Felicity walked in on them a few weeks ago.  
As soon as Oliver saw Amber walking up the stairs, making a beeline for their table, he groaned. He didn’t want to talk to her, he didn’t even want to be seen together with her. Especially not by Felicity. Luckily, she was still occupied with Thea and a few other girls on the dancefloor, not paying any attention to the upper floor.

“Ollie! Hey!” Amber squealed and almost threw herself in his arms, forcing him to catch her so she wouldn’t crash to the ground. Oliver could smell Alcohol and a strong Perfume on her, a mixture that ticked him off instantly.

“Amber.” he replied with a stern voice, only paying attention to her until she stood safely on her own two feet again.

Amber didn’t seem to care though, as she stepped closer to him once more, cockily pushing her hand in his back pocket and groping his ass.  
She leaned closer to him and whispered into his ear with a small giggle. “I missed you.”

Oliver took a deep breath and stepped away from her, trying to put as much distance between them as possible without raising any suspicions with her.  
“I’ve already told you, Amber... I’m not interested.” he told her with a firm voice, his hard eyes looking straight at her for a moment.

 

Amber seemed slightly taken aback for a second, even though Oliver knew she could be persistent. He had hooked up with her a year ago already and even back then it had been quite the struggle to end things between them. He didn’t even know why he started hooking up with her again a few weeks ago, that day he just wanted to find someone to get his mind off Felicity - and Amber was there.

Now, after telling her he wasn’t interested in a relationship of any sort, a statement that she obviously decided to ignore, he needed to get rid of her again. And that fast. Before Felicity and Thea would come back up and could see them together. Because even though there wasn’t anything going on between Amber and him any more, and Felicity probably hadn't even seen Amber’s face when she walked in on them, he didn’t want to raise any suspicions with her. He successfully managed to stay away from all women in the last few weeks, focusing solely on Felicity and their friendship. And he couldn’t deny that it felt good and he didn’t even miss the female attention.

After a few moments, the surprise on Amber’s face was replaced with a small smile.  
“That’s because we haven’t really started yet.” she told him, fluttering her eyelashes.

Oliver was in no mood to talk to her, let alone dodging her advances any longer. Turning his face towards her once again, completely ignoring how close they were, he leveled her with a hard stare, matching his hard voice.  
“Amber, I am serious.”

“So am I.” she winked at him and wiggled her hand into his back pocket again.

 

That’s when Felicity looked up.

 

As soon as Oliver looked away from Amber and scanned the dance floor again, he saw her standing there looking at him, completely frozen on the spot, unmoving. Everyone around her was still dancing and moving their arms to the beat, but Felicity stood frozen in the middle of the dance floor, her eyes a mixture of surprise and utter sadness.  
Oliver couldn’t look away from her, his eyes pleading, hoping she wouldn’t misunderstand the scene. But when Felicity turned on her heel and quickly left the dancefloor after muttering something to Thea, Oliver already found himself moving towards the stairs as well.

“Oliver, what -” Amber began, but he quickly cut her off.

“Save it, Amber. I am not interested in you, never was, never will. I already have someone in my life and you really need to realize that I do NOT want you. Stop bothering me!” he almost yelled at her, not caring when she flinched slightly. He didn’t even give her time to say anything, he quickly turned on his heel and proceeded to sprint down the stairs, leaving a surprised Tommy and even more surprised Amber behind.

 

Fighting himself through the crowd, Oliver went the way he saw Felicity leave, hoping he would find her quickly. He needed to explain that nothing had happened, that Amber was just trying to make a move on him. It wasn’t that he owed Felicity any explanation, but when he saw the look on her face he knew he had to talk to her.

More than 20 minutes he searched through the entire Club, looked everywhere, even asked women leaving the Ladies Room if they had seen a brunette one in a red dress, but no one could help him. He tried calling her, and even sent her a text, but she never answered. After all, he didn’t even know if she had her phone with her. Maybe she was already on her way back home? Naah, he doubted that. And Thea most probably wouldn’t let her go. Not before the fireworks at least. Quickly checking his watch Oliver realized there were just 15 minutes left until the New Year.

He had planned to celebrate the new year with her in his arms, now he had no idea where to find her.

With a sigh he made his way up to the VIP Lounge again. Maybe Tommy had seen her somewhere.

When Oliver arrived at their table again, looking quite stressed, Tommy sent him a surprised look.  
“Dude! Everything alright?”

“Have you seen Felicity?” Oliver replied, not even trying to look casual. Tommy knew about his feelings for the brunette girl anyway, so there wasn’t any need to hide it.

“Yeah,” Tommy began and Oliver’s head shot up in surprise, “she’s at the Bar with Max.” he pointed down to the main floor and within a second, Oliver spotted Max smiling and Felicity standing too close to him for his liking. She was smiling and seemed to enjoy herself, something that made him even more angry.

“Max went down there shortly after you disappeared. I was wondering where you went and when I saw Max with her, I got even more confused.” Tommy offered and saw Oliver’s jaw clench while he watched the two at the bar.

“Felicity saw Amber talking to me.” he told his best friend with a sigh.

“Oh,” Tommy replied, “that explains why she fled from the dance floor all of a sudden.”  
Both men nodded slightly, their eyes never leaving the couple that was still laughing and talking at the bar.  
“Man, you gotta do something. Half an hour ago, Max told me he was about to make a move on her.” Tommy offered and it took Oliver all of two seconds until he found himself on the stairs leaving the VIP Lounge again, heading straight for the bar.

 

“What’s going on with my brother?” Thea asked Tommy when she arrived back at their table, almost being run over by Oliver. “I’ve seen him running around for at least 20 minutes. Shouldn’t he be partying instead?”

Tommy shrugged with a sigh, not wanting to discuss Oliver’s relationship problems with Thea, so he turned his attention to the brunette girl that stood up right next to him. The smell of her perfume intoxicated him the moment he smelled it, giving him a hard time focusing on anything but her.  
“You know,” he began after he downed his Scotch and turned his attention on her, his back leaning against the railing, “I never properly thanked you for the christmas gift you got me.”

Tommy looked her straight in the eyes when he spoke and even though Thea tried to mask her nervousness, he could see right through it. It didn’t take her long to get back to her confident self, though.  
Thea took a step closer to him and slowly let her fingers glide over the hem of his suit jacket before she batted her lashes and looked up at him, their heads just a few inches apart.  
“Well, I guess then now is your best chance.” she told him and when she saw Tommy lick his lips, she looked down at his mouth for a moment.

Her heart was racing and Thea knew that with standing so close to Tommy, he could probably feel it, too. But she wasn’t going to let that chance slip. Not with everyone who could interrupt them occupied and most of the Party guests already leaving for the roof deck to watch the fireworks. She knew Tommy could get in trouble, but it wasn’t that she cared about it at that moment. Actually, she didn’t care for anything but him.

Tommy watched her for a short moment before he looked from her eyes down to her lips and back up again. When he slowly leaned closer, Thea was sure he was going to kiss her. Instead, he aimed for her neck and let out a small breath that left her skin tingling.  
“Thank you.” he whispered, but didn’t do anything else, even though Thea expected him to.

“So that’s it?” she whispered back after a moment, sounding even a bit annoyed. “Only a _Thank you._? After the effort I put into creating your present I’m sure I deserve a little more than just two words, don’t you think?” she whispered, gripping the lapels of his suit jacket and waited for him to reply, or do anything. Tommy moved his head just a tiny bit, but when he heard her sharp intake of breath as soon as his mouth grazed her neck, all of his reservations were thrown out the window. He pulled back, grabbed her face with both hands, tried to get a last reassuring look from her before he pressed his lips firmly on hers.

Thea responded instantly. As soon as she felt his soft lips on hers for the first time, she had to open her eyes to make sure it was actually Tommy she was kissing. But as soon as she saw the jet black hair in front of her eyes, she relaxed herself and opened up to him.

Part of him only wanted to place a soft kiss on her lips and then let go of her again. But as soon as he felt her slight gasp, and her lips parting for him, Tommy couldn’t stop himself any more. Their kiss quickly turned from a chaste peck into something more, something deeper and Tommy used his last clear thought to move them away from the railing and into one of the more secluded booths on the other side of the VIP room. That way at least Oliver wouldn’t immediately spot them when he looked up.

“Your brother is going to kill me.” Tommy mumbled between kisses.

“I don’t care.” Thea replied and wrapped her hands tighter around his torso, pulling him even closer to her. She had no idea how many more opportunities she would get to kiss him, maybe this was her only chance. So she was sure to make the most of it.

 

Oliver pushed his way through the slowly thinning crowd until he reached the bar. As soon as Felicity saw him nearing them, her eyes went wide. Had she thought he wouldn’t look for her? Or was she nervous he could interrupt her little chit-chat with Max? Either way, he wasn’t going to let that asshole take her away from him. And he needed to explain that nothing happened between Amber and him.

Making his way over to the couple, Oliver bumped into Max a little too forcefully, who quickly turned on his stool and leveled Oliver with a hard stare.  
“Max, hey.” Oliver began with his best fake smile, not even looking at Felicity. “There’s an emergency at the rooftop. One of your buddies is looking for you. Apparently they’re running out of Champagne.” Oliver lied, making Max shoot up from his chair within a second.

He turned his attention to Felicity. “Sorry, I need to take care of that. See you upstairs in a few minutes?” he asked her, earning a small smile and shy nod from her.

 

As soon as Max had left the bar and headed straight to the stairs leading to the roof area, Oliver grabbed Felicity’s hand and quickly walked her away from the main floor. She didn’t even had time to protest, too busy not to stumble over her Heels while Oliver walked them through the Club until they reached an empty corner.

Most people were heading outside already, leaving all the nooks and corners of the Club empty already, save for the staff.  
Oliver didn’t give her any time to process what was happening, or even protest, when he turned her around facing him, pushed her into the wall hard and pressed his body firmly onto hers.  
“Oliver, wha -” was all she could get out before he pressed his lips on her, hard.

It took her a long moment to realize what was happening. Oliver didn’t seem interested to let go of her though and pressed his lips even harder on her, seeking out her tongue. He felt her surprise and hesitance for a moment, but also the way her lips softened after a few seconds as she opened up to him, kissing him back with sweet, soft brushes.  
When Felicity let out a soft moan, Oliver groaned and grabbed her legs, hooking them around his body while he pressed her back harder into the wall, steadying her.  
“You’re mine.” he mumbled between kisses, never letting go of her soft lips.

“No, I’m not.” Felicity breathed back when he let go of her lips and started nibbling on her neck. “You made that pretty clear. But I’m not Max’s either, if that’s what this is about.”

Oliver let go of her neck to study her face for a moment. Her pupils were dilated, her lips swollen. Her already very short dress had been rugged up dangerously high on her thighs, only being held in place by his hands wrapped around her ass. “It’s not about Max. This is only about me wanting to kiss you senseless.” Oliver told her with a small smile and before she could protest or even answer, he shut her up with another bruising kiss. It was New Year’s Eve, after all, and he had no idea if he’s ever get the chance to kiss her again after that.

When they heard the fireworks start outside, Oliver pulled back and stared into her eyes for a moment before he gave her a warm smile and leaned closer to her, his nose brushing hers. She looked so adorable with her flushed face and the slight confusion in her eyes, that he couldn’t help but adore her even more.

“Happy new year, Felicity.” he whispered with a smile. Felicity stared at him, breathing heavily, trying to gather a single clear thought. When Oliver was about to pull back slightly, Felicity quickly grabbed his neck and pressed her lips on his again.

It only took Oliver a second to get back on track again. The hunger for her lips returning the moment he touched them, Oliver didn’t hold back any more. His mouth covered hers hungrily, sending shivers from the top of her head to the toes of her freshly manicured feet. She knew she would have fallen to her knees with the impact of the sexual hunger she suddenly felt if Oliver hadn’t tightened his hold on her legs.

His hands. Oh crap, what were his hands doing?

She could feel the slow circles that his thumbs were making on her naked thighs while the fireworks in the far distance kept on erupting, just like the ones in her body. She could feel his fingers pushing up her dress higher and higher and she knew she had to stop him, before she couldn’t any longer, and Oliver would do something they both would regret pretty soon.

“Oliver,” she mumbled onto his lips, trying to get his attention, but he was too invested in kissing and nibbling on her lips to react.  
“Oliver, please don’t.” she moaned when one of his thumbs slowly found its way under the hemline of her dress. He stopped the movements of his thumb after that, but still didn’t seem to care stopping to kiss her.  
“I’m not wearing any underwear, Oliver.”  
This time she tried to sound a little more convinced and confident.

 

That seemed to do the trick. Oliver quickly pulled back from her, his eyes wide in shock. As soon as she saw his very surprised look and raised eyebrows, Felicity turned crimson red and nervously bit her lip.  
“It wouldn’t have gone well with the dress, so Thea suggested I go commando, which I just realize I shouldn’t have told you.” she nervously mumbled, thankful that the dress still covered enough of her thighs to save her from any embarrassment. Luckily, Oliver’s hips did the rest to the hiding.

The moment the surprise on Oliver’s face was replaced for nothing but hunger, realization kicking in on him after what she just had told him, Felicity started to feel a little nervous. They were still in an open, very public Club, where hundreds of people were walking around. And besides the fact that Felicity had her legs wrapped tightly around his hips, making it look like they were very much into each other, it could also get Oliver in a ton of trouble. She didn’t want to cause him any problems, but the moment she saw his pupils darken and his eyes focus on her lips, she also knew she could never push him away or ask him to stop. He wanted it just as much as she did.

 

The moment Tommy heard the fireworks go off in the distance, he pulled back from Thea’s lips, realization suddenly hitting him. Thea stared at him, her face completely flushed, her cheeks an adorable shade of red, her lips bruised from his thorough kisses. He loved the look on her and the fact that it was his doing, but still felt a pang of guilt to what he had done.

“Happy new Year.” he smiled at her and almost shyly cleared his throat when he took a step back from her.

Thea, being not really back to Earth yet, just stood in the empty booth of the almost completely empty VIP Lounge, breathing heavily, staring at him. A particular loud bang pulled her back to the present, making her look around for a moment. Tommy still stood a few inches away from her, his eyes, still filled with hunger and arousal, fixed on hers, but she could also see the nervousness and regret clouding his face.

“Damn. I shouldn't have done that.”

“Excuse me?”

“I'm sorry.”

Sorry for kissing her? He'd gone from passionate to indifference in the timespace she drew a breath. Before he could see her eyes fill with with tears at this sudden rejection, Thea turned away, heading for the stairs.  
“It’s fine, Tommy. It’s not that we’re dating or something.” she almost snapped over her shoulder, unable to control her emotions any longer. With quick steps she made her way downstairs and through the almost empty Club, heading straight for the roof deck without even looking back one time. Tommy watched her leave, completely baffled and dumbfounded at her snappy comment for a moment, before he made up his mind and realized he had to follow her. He needed to talk to her, there was no way the new Year would start like that. And it wasn’t even that he meant it like she apparently understood it. Even though he had no idea how things could work between them - IF things could work between them.

With a sigh, he downed his almost forgotten Scotch in one gulp and quickly left the VIP area. He wasn’t even in the mood to celebrate the new Year any more, unless all the Party people that crowded the roof deck, watching the fireworks go up.

Tommy had trouble digging himself through the crowd, trying to spot Thea somewhere. But with the way the people crammed themselves on the small roof deck, his chances were very slim on finding her. And then there was the noise and all the people. He couldn’t talk to her here, even if he wanted to.  
When he spotted her standing at the railing on one side, talking to someone he didn’t recognize, Tommy fought his way over to her.  
“Can I speak to you for a minute?” he gently asked her, leaning slightly over her shoulder, a polite smile on his face.

Thea’s head snapped around at that while her body jerked away from him. As soon as she saw who was standing so close to her, her face changed from surprised to angry.  
“I’m in a conversation right now.” she snapped at him, her arms crossed over her chest. The redhead Thea had been talking to watched the scene in front of her with mild confusion but didn’t dare interrupt them to let Thea know she could stop by at the Store any time in the next days to tell if Felicity’s dress really had the effect both women hoped for. Obviously Thea wasn’t too interested to talk to the handsome man standing in front of her, so if Carrie had to serve as some sort of lie, she’d gladly do so.

Tommy contemplated his next move a moment and looked from Thea to Carrie back and forth, before he took a step closer, sent Carrie a short nod and firmly grabbed Thea’s hand.  
“Please excuse us for a moment. Go have a drink. It’s on me.” Tommy announced and pulled Thea away from the railing and back into the Club. Thea let him pull her away from the Party for a moment before she stopped him and pulled her hand out of his grip.

“Hey!” she shot at him with an angry glare on her face. “What is your problem, Tommy? I was in a conversation! You can’t simply waltz in there and pull me away!”

“I’m sorry Speedy, but -”

“My name is Thea!!!” she yelled and cut him off so angrily Tommy had rarely seen it on the younger Queen. “You can shove that Speedy crap up where the sun doesn’t shine, Merlyn. I’m not the fuckin kid any more that I used to be 10 years ago when you started calling me that.” she snapped at him. Tommy wasn’t sure if he had ever seen her so angry before, and the fact that it was all aimed at him pained him. That wasn’t the way he had the evening planned at all. Not when he saw her the first time in that gorgeous dress, and certainly not when he pressed his lips on hers just minutes ago.  
“You know what,” she suddenly began with a sigh and frown on her face, raised her hands up between them and took a step back from him, “forget it. I’m outside, watching the fireworks.”

With that, she turned on her heel and headed for the roof deck again.  
“Happy new year, Tommy.” she told him without looking back, her voice hard.

Before Tommy could talk himself out of it, he followed her, yet again.  
“No, wait.”

He grabbed her arm, making her turn around to face him. “I didn't mean it that way.”

“What way did you mean it, Tommy? Because telling a woman _‘I shouldn’t have done that.’_ after kissing her isn’t the most flattering compliment, let me tell you.”

“It was something that just happened. Something that just came over me, wanting to just kiss you.” Tommy sighed.

“And what was wrong with that? You might haven’t noticed, Tommy, but I rather enjoyed it.” she told him, her voice still hard while she kept her distance from him. Tommy could see she was hurt, the way her whole body went into defense mode and suddenly kept her distance from him, not just emotionally, told him enough.

“Me too, Thea, but still I shouldn’t have done that. You’re 16 years old! You’re my best friend’s sister!” he called out, momentarily forgetting they were still in a public place with hundreds of people around them.

“So what?” she called back, her arms still crossed over her chest, “I’m a grown woman. I can make my own decisions. And I don’t need my brother’s approval. I don’t see a problem here.”

“There isn’t a problem, Thea,” Tommy sighed and took a step closer to her. To his surprise, she didn’t move away from him. “There are several problems. And aside from the fact that you’re legally too young, there’s still your brother that will most probably slit my throat once he finds out what we just did.”

“Then don’t tell him. I certainly don’t plan to.” Thea bit back with a shrug.

“I -” he began but realized he had no idea what to say. He wanted Thea, badly, but on the other hand, did he want to start something a few months before he would leave for an entire year?  
“I don’t want to fight with you, Thea.” he told her with an honest voice and the way a flicker of softness flashed up in her eyes he could see she at least suggested to believe him. “Can - can we start over again? I don’t want the new year to begin like that.” he frowned and kept his gaze fixed on her.

Thea watched him closely for a moment, considering his words.  
“You mean you want to go back to calling me Speedy and keep teasing me like you and Ollie did all the time?” she asked him with a cocked eyebrow.  
Tommy decided to ignore her snap and only appreciated the fact that she was still talking to him. Part of him expected her to wave him off and leave him standing there without an answer.

“No. I just… I like you, okay? And I don’t want to mess up this friendship between us.” he sighed.

Friendzoned. Ouch.

 

People were slowly coming back into the Club, forcing Thea to take a step closer to Tommy to make room at the door. She kept her eyes on him all the time, considering his words, but the more time passed, the more Tommy feared she might just reject him and leave. Her face gave nothing away, which worried him even more. It felt like hours to him until she spoke again.

“Yeah, I can do that.” she smiled and motioned for the bar. “I’d say you should begin the new year by getting me something to drink.”

The relief that washed over Tommy’s face didn’t wasn’t missed by Thea. She could see how tense he was when he asked her for a restart, and after being ’friendzoned’ by him just minutes earlier, she realized that being friends with him probably would be her only chance. Though that didn’t mean she couldn’t tease him every now and then. 

 

Oliver was so engrossed in devouring Felicity’s lips, practically feasting on them, that he didn’t even hear the noises in the distance become louder and more and more people coming back into the Club. Luckily, Felicity did.  
“Oliver, we need to stop.” she mumbled but the only thing Oliver did was letting go of her legs so she could stand on her own two feet again, even though they felt like jelly. 

Straightening out her dress, she slowly pulled away from him. The moment he turned his head and looked around, seeing more and more people filling the Club’s main level, he was thankful for Felicity being so alerted all the time when he just zoned out and focused only on her.  
Clearing his throat and straightening out his suit jacket, Oliver took a step towards Felicity, almost caging her in between him and the wall again. This time though, she didn’t seem surprised.  
“Tomorrow, you and I will talk, okay?” he whispered and leaned his forehead against hers.

Felicity gave him a small smile and nodded. Quickly looking to his right and left, making sure noone was watching them, Oliver placed one last peck on her lips before he pushed back and offered her his hand to head back upstairs to the VIP Lounge.

 

As soon as they arrived back there, Thea practically jumped her, hugging Felicity tightly.  
“Happy new Year, Fee! This year’s going to be awesome! Even better than the last one, because you’ll be with me the entire time, not just half of it!” she squealed and at that moment, Felicity just realized it had been several months already since she arrived at the Queen’s, the day that changed her life completely.

The girls squealed and giggled together, until they spotted Oliver and Tommy entering the upper floor, a drink in each hand. The moment Thea spotted Tommy, Felicity could see her stealing two glasses from the waiter, downing hers in one gulp before she shoved the other in Felicity’s hands.

Felicity watched her with mild amusement for a moment before she took a sip of her drink as well.  
“So… how did things with Tommy go?” she asked with a low voice, trying hard to suppress a grin from her lips while the men arrived at their table, putting a Cocktail in front of each woman’s spot.

“Messy.” Thea murmured back and put the empty Champagne flute on the table beside her.

“I can see that.” Felicity chuckled and at Thea’s surprised stare, she motioned to her lower lip. “Your lipstick’s a little smudged.” she grinned and helped Thea correct the flaw.

“Well,” Thea began after a moment, “I take it things between my brother and you went just as good... since you don't wear any lipstick any more, at all?” Thea murmured back, sending Oliver a quick look over her shoulder, seeing her brother deeply engaged in a conversation with the man that devoured her lips just half an hour ago.  
Felicity didn’t reply but turned crimson red and just nipped on her Champagne while giving her best friend an innocent look.  
“Enough boys talk!” Thea suddenly spoke up and dragged Felicity away from the table. “We’re not going to begin the new year talking my idiot brother and his equally idiot best friend.”

Felicity gave Oliver a confused look and shrugged slightly while Thea pulled her away from the table.

“No more boys tonight. You and I are celebrating now. We’re going to dance our asses off, we’re going to get drunk, and we’re going to turn heads!” she loudly announced, making Felicity laugh out loud.

 

The women went straight to the dance floor, mingling with the other Party people, enjoying themselves under the watchful eyes of Oliver and Tommy.  
“So... how did things with Felicity go?” Tommy suddenly piped up, drawing Oliver’s attention away from the girls dancing on the main floor.

“Good… good.” he mumbled and nodded, more to himself than to Tommy. To a stranger it would have looked like a casual nod, but Tommy knew his best friend well enough to see the short spark in his eyes and the way he had to suppress a smile when he spoke about Felicity.  
Tommy watched him for a moment, an amused smirk on his face. Oliver kept his eyes on the dancefloor, though, amusing Tommy even more.  
“So I take it that Max is out of the picture?” he asked him, eyebrows raised expectantly.

The mention of Max’s name pulled Oliver’s attention back to his best friend.  
“He was never IN the picture, Tommy. He just needed to be reminded that.” Oliver grinned.

With an amused laugh on his lips, Tommy grabbed both Scotch glasses and handed Oliver one.  
“To a fucking awesome year and a fucking awesome vacation.” Tommy loudly announced, raising his glass in the air.

 

When Thea almost fell asleep in Felicity’s arms after 3 hours of excessive dancing and one too many Cocktails, Felicity decided to call it a night. Since both girls had drunk, Tommy called them a Cab and helped the girls outside, promising to get Oliver and himself home soon as well.

Not even bothering to help Thea out of her dress, Felicity let her sleeping body flop on the mattress, took off her shoes and pulled the sheets over her. That would have to do for the night. Getting into her own room, she contemplated on taking a quick shower, but decided that she was too tired and wasted for that. After brushing her teeth in record time, she kicked off her clothes, removed her contacts and fell into bed, moaning at the soft, comforting sheets around her.  
It took her all of 3 seconds to fall asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next up:
> 
> conversations, encounters, vacations! :D


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Gang! :)  
> I hope everyone had a super awesome Christmas! :)
> 
> So this took a little longer than originally planned.  
> The husband surprised me with a trip to the Swiss Alps and that kind of crushed my plans to publish another Chapter - not that I'd complain. :D  
> This Chapter turned out to be one hell of a beast with over 13k words, so I had to split it up.
> 
> Felicity and Oliver still have a ton of things to talk about before he'll leave.  
> Th next Chapter will be up tomorrow evening, so if you want to read the whole thing, I'd suggest you wait until tomorrow. :)
> 
> These will be the last two Chapters posted in 2015 as I'll be travelling during New Year's and won't be able to edit another Chapter in time.
> 
> Please let me know what you think about this Chapter. I know it may not be your most favourite one, but I promise things will get a LOT better after that, as soon as Oliver's on that trip with Tommy  
> And to the ones worried, no cheating for Oliver! He wouldn't do that. :)
> 
> Don't party too hard! See you in 2016! ✰✰✰

The morning started slow in the Queen household, the only one up and rummaging around being, as usual, Raisa. When Felicity woke up, her throat dry from all the Alcohol, she grabbed her bathrobe and made her way downstairs to the kitchen, only to be greeted by a broad smile and the smell of pancakes and coffee.  
“Good morning Raisa! Happy new Year!” she smiled and went straight for the fridge, grabbing a bottle of water.

“Miss Felicity, happy new year to you, too!” Raisa smiled back and flipped a pancake on the stove. “You are the first one awake, Mister Oliver and Miss Thea are still fast asleep.”

“I know,” Felicity almost chuckled, “I tucked Thea in last night and when I went downstairs and passed Oliver’s room, I could hear the snoring sound coming out of his room, so I’d say he’ll be out a couple more hours as well.”  
Both women laughed at that and Felicity stole a pancake from the large plate, earning a swat with the spatula from the russian maid.  
“I really need to take a shower. Want me to wake Thea up so we can come downstairs for breakfast?”

“No, no, let the girl sleep. She doesn’t have to be up since Mister and Mrs. Queen won’t be back until 3pm. You going to visit Castiel? The poor horses were very nervous last night with the fireworks going off in the distance, but Vitali kept a close eye on them.” Raisa spoke over her shoulder, never looking away from the pan.

Felicity smiled and nodded, but grabbed her water bottle and got up from the kitchen counter.  
“Shower first, then I’ll go and see how Castiel’s doing.”

 

2 hours later, the grumbling sounds coming from the open connecting door to Thea’s room pulled Felicity off the bed. She had showered and thought about napping a little more, but since Robert and Moira would be back soon and the girls still had to clean up their mess from the day before and hide their clothes, she decided to get to work before the Queens would come back.  
With a smile, Felicity tip-toed into Thea’s room, seeing the brunette fighting herself out of her dress on the way to her bathroom.  
“Need some help?” Felicity chuckled, making Thea’s head snap around with a groan.

“Lower your voice please.” Thea growled, earning a giggle from the brunette. Helping her out of the clothes, Felicity quickly grabbed the Heels and dress and went to hide them in the hamper when she heard the shower start.

“What do you plan to tell your parents?” Felicity asked into the open, steamy bathroom. “I mean, we can’t very well tell them we got drunk at your friends new Years sleepover - because, you know… we’re not allowed to get drunk and we weren’t even there.” she chuckled, but got no reply from Thea.

With laugh and slight shake of head, Felicity decided to help Thea out. Heading downstairs to the kitchen, she pulled out a plate and prepared her a breakfast for champions with orange juice, pancakes, some fruit and an Aspirin. God knows she’ll need it. When she was about to head back upstairs, a quick memory of Oliver crossed her mind.  
Before she could talk herself out of it, she prepared him a plate as well and took them both upstairs.

The shower was still running, steaming up the entire room while Thea whined and groaned at the headache. Setting the tray on Thea’s bed with a smile, Felicity went over to Oliver’s room.

 

It was dead silent when she arrived and listened for a moment, trying to make out any sounds that could give away what might be going on behind the closed door. Secretly, she hoped the snoring sound was still there, letting her know he was still dead asleep. Deciding to forego the knock, she slowly turned the handle and peeked inside. The curtains were closed, leaving the room in almost complete darkness, but through the small streams of sunlight she could make out a sleeping form on the bed.  
Quickly tip-toeing inside, she placed the tray next to him, far enough so he wouldn’t kick it over in his sleep, but close enough so he’d immediately spot it once he woke up.  
After watching him sleep for another few moments, forcing her hand not to touch his face to caress him, Felicity turned and left his room, a content smile on her lips. The year couldn’t have started any better.

Thea was back in bed when Felicity returned, nibbling on her pancake. The aspirin was gone from the tray, but Thea still looked pretty disheveled, even after the shower. After agreeing to hide Thea’s headache as best as they could from the Queen heads, Felicity got herself ready to check on the horses while Thea slept some more. Since there was still more than 4 hours until Moira and Robert would be back, Felicity promised Thea to wake her up in time so noone would suspect anything.

 

When Oliver woke up an hour later, he immediately spotted the small breakfast tray on the foot of his bed. After checking his phone, sending a quick text to Tommy, he sat up and grabbed the tray, a small smile on his lips, mentally thanking Raisa for always being so attentive. But when he spotted a little folded note under the plate, his name written on it in delicate handwriting that Oliver knew by heart already, he halted his movements for a second. Quickly putting the orange juice down, he grabbed the note and opened it.

_Garden Shed, 2pm. Let’s talk.  
F_

Remembering what he said to her after kissing her so hungrily in the corner of that Club, Oliver thought about Felicity for a moment. He knew he shouldn't have dragged her through the Club like that, he knew he shouldn’t have let his jealousy get ahold of him, but the moment he saw Max talking to her, being so close to her, his control just snapped. At first he just wanted to tell her that nothing was going on between Amber and him, that she just saw Amber trying to make a move on him. But then he saw her and Max being so close together, looking like they were having a good time together, and the thought of apologizing completely vanished from his mind. Oliver just knew he needed to drag her away from Max, mainly because what Max had told Tommy about his plans with Felicity. But a small part of him, okay a pretty big part of him, simply didn’t want any other man that close to her.

Groaning at his reckless behavior with her, Oliver leaned down onto his pillows for a moment. It was barely 11am, and since Tommy hadn’t replied yet, Oliver guessed he was still fast asleep as well. Deciding to go on a quick run to get the rest of the alcohol out of his system, Oliver quickly dressed up and left the Mansion, heading right for his usual trail around the property. He still needed to sort out his thoughts before talking to Felicity. And this time, he couldn’t mess it up like the last time they talked. Trying to clear his head and find the right words to say to her, he walked across the property, getting ready to for the run.

 

When he passed the stable, he spotted Felicity giving Castiel a generous back rub, giggling like a little kid while Castiel furiously nodded his head whenever she reached a particular ticklish spot on his belly. Oliver stopped to watch her for a moment, taking in her carefree and relaxed form that people rarely got to see of her. It wasn’t that Felicity didn’t laugh much, in fact the young foster kid seemed to have cheered up the mood of the entire Mansion with her babbles and innuendos within a few days. But seeing her so… at ease with herself, was something Oliver had rarely seen of her. And for a moment he wondered if he might be the cause of it, at least partly.  
When Felicity looked up and spotted him standing there in the distance, watching her, she sent him a shy smile and a wave. Earning a smile herself, Felicity watched him leave and start his run.

 

***

 

Felicity spent half of the morning preparing the garden shed. What for? She honestly had no idea, but it couldn’t hurt to come prepared. Which is why she snagged a few cans of Coke and some fruit from the kitchen as soon as Raisa left to do the laundry and brought it over to the shed. After dusting off the couch and TV table and rearranging the pillows for a hundreth time, Felicity sat down on the couch and let out a long breath, wiping the sweat that had formed on her forehead.  
Sweat? Oh no! She very well couldn’t meet him all sweaty and sticky! Quickly checking her watch, she realized that there wasn’t enough time left to make a run for the Mansion to shower in her room. With 15 minutes left until Oliver would arrive it should give her enough time for a quick shower and blowdry of her hair. After taking a sniff on her clothes, deciding they were still suitable, she quickly stormed into the bathroom and hopped under the shower.

It was 5 minutes before 2pm when Oliver arrived at the garden shed, looking a little nervous while he shifted from one foot to the other.

Oliver was early.

Oliver Queen had never been early before. Not even to official family Dinners or Banquets he had to accompany his parents to. At each and every single one of them he had been late. At least by 30 minutes, most of the time by more than an hour. Moira had tried to talk some sense into him, but after some point, they all gave in and let him be, happy that he at least arrived and not completely ditched the occasions.  
So he found himself in front of the Queen garden shed, repeatedly checking his watch, unsure what to do. Should he wait another 5 minutes and go in right on time? Or wouldn’t she mind if he was a little early. After all, it should leave a positive impression on her, right?

Deciding not to wait any longer, he slowly climbed the steps to the Apartment. He could hear faint music coming from inside and for a moment, he wondered, if Felicity had spent the entire morning at the shed. Shaking off his thoughts, he opened the door and peeked inside.  
The couch was unoccupied, but he could hear rustling sounds coming from another room, so he stepped inside and closed the door behind himself. When he was about to sit down on the couch and just wait for her to return, Oliver caught sight of the slightly ajar bathroom door and Felicity that was about to get dressed.  
Swallowing the lump that had suddenly formed in his throat, Oliver tried to force himself not to stare, but the sight of her half naked body, except for her underwear, was too much to ignore for him. He contemplated about getting up from the couch and step closer to the bathroom, but quickly banished that thought again. And it wasn’t as if he hadn’t seen her in a Bikini before. But still the sight of her kept him mesmerized.

The start of the blowdryer pulled him out of his reverie, making him flinch slightly. He quickly got up from the couch and stalked towards the bathroom and gently knocked. Felicity’s head snapped around the moment she heard the sound, clearly surprised to see him standing there. After shutting the blow dryer off, she sent him a small smile.  
“I didn’t expect you to be on time.” she laughed, earning a chuckle from him as well. “Give me another minute? I’ll be out then.” she smiled and motioned for him to sit down on the couch.

 

When Felicity emerged a few minutes later, Oliver patiently sat on the couch, waiting for her. She grabbed herself something to drink, offering him a can as well.  
“So,” she began with a small smile and padded over to the couch, leaving a bit of space between them when she sat down, “you said you wanted to talk?”

Straight to the point. He should have known Felicity wouldn’t want to beat around the bush for long, he would have probably done the same if he were in her shoes. Quickly recalling everything he had planned to say to her, Oliver cleared his throat and sat a little straighter on the couch. Instantly sensing the change in his posture and his hands nervously clamping together, Felicity’s looseness vanished within seconds, suddenly making her nervous.  
“Yeah, uhm... I want to apologize for last night,” he began but as soon as Felicity raised her hand, stopping him mid - sentence, Oliver’s head snapped up.

“If you’re going to tell me you’re sorry for kissing me last night, we can end this conversation right off. I’m not going to listen to that over and over again, Oliver.” she told him with a firm voice and hard look, her face completely different than the relaxed one he had looked at just seconds ago.

“No, that’s not - that’s not what I was about to say.” he replied and slid closer to her on the couch, taking her hand in his. “I wanted to apologize for catching you so off-guard after I saw you with Max. I’m not apologizing for kissing you.” He smiled slightly as soon as he saw her shoulders relax a bit.  
“But,” he continued and Felicity instantly froze on the spot again, “I have been so reckless last night, distracted... someone could have easily seen us, getting us both into big trouble. And I can’t let that happen, Felicity. But the problem is, I am like that when I’m around you. I can’t control it. Everything I can focus on is you.” he told her, keeping his eyes on her hand in his while he slowly intertwined fingers with her.

“We can be more careful.” Felicity offered with a hopeful glint in her eyes, her voice so shy it made her sound a lot younger than she was.

“You know we can’t,” he interrupted her with a sad smile. It wasn’t that he was concerned about himself any more, he long ago decided to deal with the consequences if they’d get caught. But he couldn’t allow himself to get her in trouble just because he couldn’t control himself.

Her head bowed down for a moment, seemingly deep in thought at his words. When she looked up at him again, she looked so sad that it almost broke Oliver’s heart.  
“So you’re telling me - again - that it can’t happen any more and that you basically regret kissing me like that last night because you shouldn’t act on your feelings?”

Oliver squeezed her hand in assurance and leaned a little closer to her. He thought about wrapping his arm around her, but the way she slumped her body on the couch, half facing away from him, made him hold back.  
“I’m not saying I regret it, I’ll never regret kissing you. I’m just saying that I care about you. So much that I don’t want to ruin anything between us. And I doubt neither do you. But I’ll be away for one year, Felicity. And even at my most fucked up times I wouldn’t have kept a relationship with a woman I couldn’t physically touch for 12 long months, so I certainly can’t do it now, and especially not with you. You deserve to be cherished and treated well, Felicity. Every day. And I could never do that while travelling a different continent. And I don’t want to go to bed every night knowing how much I should give you but couldn’t because there’s half of the planet between us.”

The thumb that rubbed soothing circles on her palm suddenly felt too much to bear for her. Felicity pulled her hand out of his grasp and rested it in her lap, tightly folded with the other, taking away any chance for Oliver to reach for it again. She was closing off of him and Oliver hated seeing it. This wasn’t how he had planned the talk to go - at all.  
He just wanted her to understand he wasn’t regretting what he did, what they did, but that he needed to distance himself from her until she was old enough, or at least until after their Europe trip. For her own sake. He could never start this vacation with his best friend, knowing he’d leave Felicity behind for 12 months, after they’d just started to find out if they could work together. And deep down, Oliver already knew they could. She always seemed to cheer him up but at the same time she continuously challenged him, trying to always get the best out of him, make him trying to be a better person, even when he doubted himself. Oliver had never met anyone before that could do that. Coupled with the fact that Felicity was so ridiculously beautiful... yeah, he was totally screwed.  
Which was why he couldn’t act on his feelings. Not now, so shortly before that trip and with Felicity barely 16 years old. When Tommy and he returned, she’d be almost 18, making things at least a little easier, even though still illegal. But that was something to think about when the time came.

Taking a deep breath, Oliver gave it another try.  
“I don’t want to play with your feelings, Felicity. I would love this just as much as you do, but we both know we can’t. Not now.” he sighed and watched Felicity nod her head in surrender.

“So this was all just fun for you last night. Again.” she suddenly looked up and spoke, trying to sound firm and steady despite the weakness she felt inside her. She didn’t want to sound like the stupid, lovesick 16 year old teenager, not with Oliver around, but at that moment, she couldn’t help herself. And she didn’t care. She needed to speak out what her brain screamed so loudly in her head.

“No! No, Felicity, it’s not. It’s just… I can’t stand seeing you in someone else’s arms, okay? I want you in mine, and not having to see you in Max’s or anyone else’s. Is that selfish? Maybe. But I can’t help it when I’m with you.” he told her and the honesty with that he spoke these words took Felicity completely by surprise. Still, she wasn’t his possession, she was her own person. And Oliver couldn’t just keep her at arm’s length all the time, but at the same time to expect her to not have any contact with other men.

“Well, what do you want now? Because I’m not going to do this any longer. So far, every time you’ve kissed me you later come to tell me you shouldn’t have done it and honestly, Oliver? That’s neither how I imagine a good friendship nor a relationship to go, and I certainly don’t want to get hurt like that every time. You say you know about my feelings. Then why do you do this all the time, over and over again? Because I teased you last night with the dress? Because it made you jealous that I talked to Max? Well guess what, Oliver… it’s my right to do so, it’s my life! I’m a free person and we’re not a couple! So there’s no reason for you to claim any rights on me like you did last night. Or like you do now by telling me you don’t want me near anyone else but you, but at the same time telling me you can’t be near me again. You certainly have no right to hurt me like that.” she snapped at him, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes. If the words she shot at him had hurt him, the look on her face completely pained him to the core.  
“So I’m asking you one last time now, Oliver… what do you want? Because this game you’re playing? I’m not going to play with you any longer.”

She slid as far away from him as she could, needing the physical distance between them to keep herself together. At least until Oliver would be leaving the garden shed again, which she hoped was soon. Because she had no idea how long she could hold herself together like that.

Oliver sighed and nervously rubbed his face with his hand. He had no idea what to say to her to make her feel better, to make it hurt less, because what he needed to say wouldn’t make her feel better at all. He knew that. He knew, because he already felt like shit himself. But if he wanted to keep her friendship, keep her in his life the only way to do that, was being up front and honest with her, and to push his feelings into the back of his mind, at least for the next 5 months until Tommy and he would leave and he didn’t have to hold himself together any longer.  
“I want us to start over again, Felicity. A fresh start. I want to be friends with you, genuine good, hopefully best friends. Because you’re probably the only friend I ever had that doesn’t just tell me what I want to hear. You make me laugh, and I love laughing with you, or spending the afternoon together with Thea and Tommy, doing silly things or just watching a movie. I don’t want to lose one of my best friends, Felicity. Not for something we have no idea how and if it could work.” he told her with a pleading voice. He looked at her, his eyes begging her to understand his motivations, to at least consider his offer. She could see that he was honest with her and part of her adored him for it, but the words stung nonetheless. Because that wasn’t what she had thought she’d hear when Oliver pressed his forehead against hers after stealing another quick kiss before pulling away just 14 hours ago, telling her they’d have to talk. This wasn’t at all what she thought to hear when she prepared the garden shed, humming to her favorite tune while her thoughts were with Oliver all the time.

She expected him to tell her he’d finally come to his senses and tell her they’d give it a try. If not that, she expected him to at least consider having a secret relationship with her. She could have done that, as long as Oliver would be honest and sincere with her. What she didn’t expect at all, though, was Oliver telling her his friendship with her was more important to him than being in a relationship with her.

 

When she realized Oliver was looking at her, part confused and part expecting, she cleared her throat and sat a little straighter on the couch. Seems she got lost in her head for a little longer than she intended to.  
“I, uh,” she began and nervously fidgeted on her seat while she tried to find the right words and then get the hell out of the the shed. She needed time to think about everything. Alone.  
“I need time to think about that, Oliver. It’s not that this is just some casual thing for me. I really like you, and I know you know, too. I’ve repeatedly told you, after all. So I just can’t agree to you asking me to be nothing but friends any longer and pretending like there wasn’t anything going on between us. Because to me, it sure did. So, uhm…” she told him while she hesitantly got up from the couch, heading for the door. If she could get out before Oliver, she had a fair chance to avoid him until she was at her room. She couldn’t stand the thought of walking beside him over the property back to the house. Not at that moment. “... give me a day or two and I’ll let you know.”  
And with that, she was out the door, leaving a very confused Oliver behind.

 

Practically running across the property, Felicity slipped into the Mansion and quickly gathered her riding gear. Deciding to change at the stable so she wouldn’t risk running into Oliver again, Felicity left her room just as quickly as she entered it. When she was about to slip through the glass doors in the kitchen again and make her way over to the stable, she saw Oliver striding across the green, heading for the Mansion.  
Feeling a little panicky, she quickly grabbed a water bottle from the fridge and ran over to the main door. Rounding the Mansion from the right side, Oliver wouldn’t be able to see her. And she definitely needed to distance herself from him, at least for the rest of the day, until she had cleared her thoughts. Thea would probably laugh at her, behaving like a lovesick teenager, but so what. She was entitled to act like that from time to time.

 

10 minutes into the trail, Felicity realized she hadn’t woken up Thea yet. Since Moira and Robert would be back home soon, Thea needed to be up and fit, and Felicity had promised to make sure of that. Maybe it would have been a smart idea to just take her with her on the trail so the Queen’s wouldn’t see her hungover daughter until she felt a little better. But Felicity didn’t want anyone around her at that moment, especially not Thea, who, despite her hangover and headache, always had a loose tongue and pressed matters that Felicity did not want to talk about. Felicity favored the silence for an hour or two, and the calm companion that carried her through the woods, willingly listening to her ramblings about this and that.

So she quickly pulled out her phone and send Thea a text. When the younger Queen didn’t respond though, Felicity called her.  
“Good morning, sleepy head. This is your wake up call to remind you that your parents will be back in 30 minutes.” Felicity spoke with a grin when she heard the loud groan as soon as Thea accepted the call.

When Thea heard the birds chirping through the phone though, accompanied by Castiel’s continuous snorting while he carried Felicity through the woods, she paused for a moment.  
“Wait, where are you? Why didn’t you just come over and wake me up, like normal people do who live door to door?”

“I’m out with Castiel.” Felicity confessed, already fearing the angry rambling that Thea would unleash on her for sneaking out of the house alone, letting her alone with her parents.

“Why didn’t you say anything, Fee? I could have come with you and avoided the parent-situation here!” Thea pouted, making Felicity laugh slightly. She had pity with her best friend, but still needed that time for herself.

“There was a bit of a situation between Oliver and me, so I needed to get away from the Mansion for a bit. Don’t be mad at me, okay? I promise to make it up to you with some Popcorn and a movie tonight. Just the two of us.”

“What did he do now?” Thea growled, suddenly not sounding sleepy and hungover any more.

Felicity laughed slightly. “He didn’t do anything, we just... talked. And now I need some time to myself. Sort things out. Stuff like that.”

“Alright, but don’t leave me alone in this madhouse for too long, you understand?” Thea demanded, earning another giggle from Felicity.

Agreeing she wouldn’t take longer than 3 hours tops, Felicity ended the call, stuffed her phone away and focused on the ride again. Her head was still spinning like crazy and she sure needed some more time until she knew what to do once she got back to the Mansion.

 

She didn’t see Oliver when she got back home and was quite thankful for it. After being told by Raisa that the Queens were all out for Dinner and didn’t take her with them simply because she wasn’t back home yet, Felicity decided to spend the evening at the garden shed. When she stepped into the Apartment earlier, realizing that it had been months since she last walked into it, Felicity felt how much she missed spending time in there. It had been like her very first, own Apartment, after all. Well, sort of, at least.

After Raisa loaded her with a delicious meal she had cooked for the foster kid so she wouldn’t miss out while the Queen’s were out for Dinner, Felicity made her way over to the shed. Reading a bit while listening to some music, reveling in memories of the first time she’d arrived at the Queen Mansion after her escape from Detroit, Felicity enjoyed her evening alone. Knowing the Queens would return back soon, and Thea probably demanding to be told everything that happened, she made sure to enjoy the silence for as long as she could.

 

Luckily, but much to Felicity’s surprise, Thea seemed totally uninterested in asking her about what happened with Oliver earlier. Instead, she demanded Felicity’s offer of movie and popcorn, so the girls settled in the movie room and watched ‘10 Things I hate about you’ - Thea’s pick.  
An hour into the film, Thea fell asleep. Felicity contemplated on shutting it off and wake her up so they could go to back, but she actually wanted to finish it first. And it wasn’t that she was that tired either. Quickly checking that Thea was really asleep, Felicity pulled out her phone and typed down a quick text.  
 _I thought about what you said earlier. And I want that, too. Being friends, I mean. Just give me a few days to accommodate to that. F_

She didn’t even have the time to put away her phone when the answer came from Oliver.  
 _I’ll give you as long as you need. Thank you, Felicity. -O_

 

With a small smile on her lips, she stuffed her phone back into the back pocket and kept watching the movie, even though her thoughts drifted back to Oliver all the time. During her ride she realized that Oliver was right with what he said, even though she hated to admit it. There would be so much at risk if they’d start some sort of relationship. Not only would Oliver risk going to jail, even if she’d say that everything happened with her consent, but she’d also risk being thrown out by the Queens, let alone imagine the trouble Oliver would get with his parents. And if there was one thing she definitely didn’t want, then it was causing any trouble for Oliver and messing up the chance the Queen family had given her.

So she decided that Oliver was right, and that taking up on his offer at being friends for now was the only right decision to make. But that didn’t mean it would get easy for her, getting over her feelings and being just friends with him. Thinking about the possibility of Oliver starting to date again, she could feel her stomach twist slightly.  
But like she said Oliver had no claim over her, she certainly didn’t have any over him either. So the only thing she could do was sit and wait what the time may bring while growing herself a thick skin so she wouldn’t get too hurt if he’d really start to date again, soon.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we have Pt.2 of the Chapter - which somehow turned out to be another 12k word beast. But since I didn't want to split it up again, here it is in all its glory.  
> Oliver is leaving. :(

It took Felicity a few days to come to grips with her new situation, but thankfully, Thea kept her attention almost entirely on her best friend and the activities they’d done together. It almost seemed as if Thea tried to cheer her friend up and make her think about Oliver as less as possible, even though she didn’t ask one question about what had happened between Oliver and her best friend. She just came up with a new idea on what to do whenever she saw the frown and sadness return on Felicity’s face.  
And after a week, Felicity realized that being distracted like that really helped her.

Oliver gave her a few days and kept himself away from her as much as possible, but when he saw the small smile he got in return after sending her one when he came downstairs for Dinner, Oliver started to act a little more normal around her again. With school about to start again soon as well, Felicity didn’t have much time to focus on anything else, anyway.

 

When Tommy came over a few days later, stating he was bored and needed to get away from Merlyn Manor and his insane father, Thea suggested watching a movie together. Felicity wanted to protest, telling her she’d have to study for school, but Thea was having none of that.  
“It’s been too long since we have done something together! Just the 4 of us!”

In the end, it was the youngest Queen sibling who managed to drag Oliver out of his room and convince Felicity to put her studying to a pause for two hours to watch a film together.  
Loaded with two bowls of Popcorn, they made it over to the movie room.

Oliver instantly occupied his personal chair with Thea plopping down right next to him. Felicity stopped for a moment, unsure on where to sit. But when Tommy fell into the seat right next to Thea, she decided to just sit next to Tommy instead of Oliver. Putting a little distance between them should help her with focusing on the film.

Since Thea practically organized the movie night, she got to choose on the film as well. It didn’t surprise Felicity one bit that she went for ‘Friends with Benefits’, probably trying to send a message to Tommy. But the film also caused some uneasiness with Felicity, making it hard for her to actually enjoy the film.

 

“Hey, you okay?” Tommy suddenly asked her in a low voice, gently nudging her shoulder while leaning his body closer to her and away from Oliver and Thea, who were still engrossed with the movie. Tommy’s words took her by surprise, and it wasn’t that she was _that_ close with Oliver’s best friend. But for a short second, his real concern warmed her heart.

“Yeah.” she gave him a small smile and even smaller nod. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

“If you ever feel like needing to talk to someone that doesn’t have _‘Queen’_ as a last name, you have my number. Okay?” he told her, his grey eyes looking deep into hers. For a moment, Felicity felt a little uncomfortable being so close to Tommy, but the feeling quickly changed for the appreciation she felt towards him. Tommy had never been her go-to guy when she wanted to talk, that honor always went to Thea. Or Oliver. But Tommy had a point. If she wanted to talk about something _Queen-related_ , no matter the topic, she could go and talk to him. Tommy knew about the situation between Oliver and her, after all, so there wasn’t even any need to hide anything from him.  
Giving him another smile, this time a little bigger, Felicity nodded and looked back to the TV screen. Maybe Tommy really wasn’t such a bad guy after all.

 

Felicity was, unlike Thea, glad when school started again. After having too much free time on her hands the days before, she was glad she finally got to keep her brain focused on school stuff again. Going back to her tutoring lessons was another thing she was very much looking for.

Two weeks passed without any major interruptions, only the omnipresent uneasy feeling in her stomach whenever she and Oliver were in one room together told Felicity something had been going on. She began visiting the Orphanage again and even started taking Yoga classes three times a week, leaving the free time to herself at the Mansion almost non-existent.

 

And one day, Sam from school asked her out after lunch. To say she was surprised would have been a major understatement. She knew him, well, every woman in School knew the good looking guy with the piercing green eyes, but Felicity never thought he’d recognize her as well. It intimidated her a little when he approached her, his empty tray in hand, a broad smile on his lips. And to her luck, Thea wasn’t there to rescue her either. Awesome.  
The first few times he asked her, she refused. And it surprised her how persistent he was, coming over every day during lunch, sometimes after School, asking her the same question over and over again, his cute smile a permanent companion on his face. One one hand, Felicity felt bad for refusing him, but she couldn’t imagine herself clicking with such a popular guy from school.  
But after running into Oliver in the hallway one afternoon, feeling the pain creep up in her again, she decided to give it a try with Sam and go out, have some fun. Maybe Thea was right and someone else could help her get over the pain, so she could be around Oliver again without feeling the hurt in her stomach all the time.

 

So she sent Sam a text, letting him know she had the afternoon off and if he wanted to go to the city and grab a Milkshake. It didn’t take Sam long to reply and just an hour later, a black, very sporty looking Honda rolled up the driveway, a smiling sandy blonde behind the steering wheel. For a moment, Felicity was glad no one but Thea was at home, saving her from prying eyes and unwanted questions about the boy.

The ride to the City hadn’t been an awkward one, like Felicity expected. Sam actually was a very eager conversational partner and Felicity barely had time to answer all his questions until they rolled up at the Shake Shack in Starling City. Sam helped her out of the car, actually surprising Felicity with that gesture. She wouldn’t have pegged the High School Quarterback for such a gentleman.

The conversations shifted various times between them. One time Sam told her about his Sports career and his scholarship for a renown College, then they talked about her life as a foster kid, having to travel through the country every few months. And after a while, Felicity forgot thinking about Oliver entirely, being so engrossed in talking to Sam.  
He had been a true gentleman the entire afternoon, Felicity quickly realized that. He opened the doors for her, pulled her chair, paid for her Shake (much to her displeasure) and never touched more than ler lower arm or hand. When texting him earlier she didn’t know what to expect from the afternoon, but she certainly didn’t expect this.

 

Sam took her back home to the Mansion shortly before 8pm since Felicity didn’t want to be late for the family dinner, having to explain what she did during the afternoon. So when Sam pulled up in front of the entrance and got out of the car, opening the door for her and helping her out, they shared an awkward moment together, Felicity not knowing if she should just leave or maybe politely shake his hand.

When she was about to take a step back, a shy smile on her lips, Sam suddenly lunged forward and pulled her in a loose hug.  
“I really had fun today. See you at School tomorrow?” he asked her after loosening his grip on her. She gulped and nodded, still smelling his Cologne on herself from the hug. After sending her a small smile and nod, he got back into his car and left quicker than Felicity could gather her thoughts.

 

“So, who was that lovely boy who saw you off a few minutes ago?” Moira asked her so casually over the dinner table, if Felicity wouldn’t have listened closely, she would have never guessed Moira was speaking to HER and not to Robert.  
All heads at the table shot up at that. Felicity’s facing Moira, while Robert, Thea, Moira and Oliver all stared at her, all having different looks on their faces.  
Moira and Robert looked nothing but genuinely interested, maybe a little surprised that Felicity seemed to have been on a Date.  
Thea looked surprised at first but Felicity knew her best friend well enough to know that her look also said _‘I’m demanding answers as soon as we’re upstairs, Lady.’_  
Oliver looked at her with total shock, though. And seeing him so perplexed, Felicity was surprised for a moment that he didn’t even try to cover his emotions when it came to her, like he did all those months before.

That was why she didn’t want anyone to see her and Sam together. She would have to answer uncomfortable questions in front of the entire family. Discussing this in private with Thea and hiding it from the rest of the family would have been something Felicity would have gladly preferred. Seemed like some things never go as planned.  
“Sam is a friend from School. We just went out for a Milkshake and discuss school stuff.” she shrugged, trying hard to make it sound as casual as possible so Moira would decide to drop the topic.

Unfortunately for her, Thea seemed to disagree with that plan once again.  
“Sam? As in Sam Covington, the Starling High Quarterback?” Thea asked her, clearly surprised, eyebrows raised high. Everyone had stopped eating at that point and Felicity could feel the attention of the entire room on her.

“M-hm.” she shyly mumbled into her fork, keeping her eyes solely on the plate in front of her to hide the crimson red cheeks painting her face.

“Wow,” Thea breathed out and leaned back on her chair, the plate in front of her long forgotten. “This guy is like the most sought after guy in School.” she told her mother, bringing up the embarrassment - level to an unbearable one for Felicity. She didn’t dare looking up from her plate any more, unable to look at anyone. She could only assume the faces that were watching her at that moment.

Robert and Moira maybe being surprised, if their looks gave away anything at all. Thea, clearly entertained by the entire situation unfolding in front of them and Oliver, well... she guessed he might be surprised as well, maybe even a little uncomfortable. Not that she cared about that, though. He had made her uncomfortable for long enough and if that was her chance to repay the favor, then she’d gladly do so.  
“It was just a Milkshake.” Felicity tried to defend herself, earning a huff from her friend beside her.

“Thea, please.” Moira interrupted her. “As long as he is a nice guy and not a troublemaker there’s no reason to grill Felicity about it.” she smiled and resumed eating her meal, clearly ending the uncomfortable conversation. Felicity was very thankful about that but could still feel Oliver’s hard stare on her.

 

As soon as Dinner was over and Felicity had arrived at her room and plopped onto her bed with a sigh, the door burst open, making her head snap up in surprise.  
“I expect answers.” Thea firmly pointed out with a warning finger, closing the door behind her before she hopped onto Felicity’s bed as well. “Since when does Sam has a thing for you?”  
When Felicity was about to answer, Thea cut her off. “Wait, since when do YOU have a thing for Sam? Wasn’t it just two weeks ago that my idiot brother and you were making out like lovesick puppies at the Club?” Thea asked her with a quirked eyebrow.

Felicity leveled her best friend with a hard stare for a moment.  
“Sam and I are not having a _‘thing’_ for each other, Thea. And Oliver and I aren’t a couple, so that’s really none of his concern. Neither is it yours, by the way.” she told her friend with a cocked eyebrow when she hopped off the bed, making a beeline for the closet to change into something more comfortable.

Thea rolled her eyes and followed her into the closet.  
“Seriously, what happened between Ollie and you? On New Years you were so happy and now you’re dating that Sam? Not that I don’t mind, he’s pretty hot, I mean -”

“I’m NOT dating him, okay? We just went to Shake Shack, we talked a little, that’s it. That hardly defines as dating, don’t you think?” Felicity snapped, hoping to be able to drop the topic, even though she knew the persistence of her best friend all too well.

After eyeing Felicity for a moment, Thea leaned on the doorframe and crossed her arms over her chest.  
“Let’s pretend you’re speaking the truth,”

“I am.”

“Yeah yeah, let’s pretend you’re not dating Sam Covington... then why are you with him at Shake Shack, and not with my dear brother?”

Felicity halted her movements for a moment at that. Thea was right, under normal circumstances she should have spent the afternoon with Oliver, but after that speech of him preferring to be only friends with here because it’s ‘safer’ for everyone, she decided to move on with her life and do just that. Being friends with him. Which of course meant she couldn’t go on a Shake Date with him. Not that spending the afternoon with Sam qualified to be a Date.  
“Oliver made his choice.” Felicity told her with a little sadness in her voice when she pulled on her sweatpants and hoodie, earning an annoyed eye roll from the brunette.

“Okay, spill it. What happened between you guys? And don’t tell me ‘nothing’! For two weeks I have kept my mouth shut, and you know how well that usually works for me, so...” Thea warned her and blocked the entrance, trapping Felicity with her in the closet. With a sigh, Felicity told her everything that had happened between them two weeks ago, that when she thought they were finally starting some relationship-like thing, Oliver decided to friendzone her instead.

 

Thea didn’t say a word while Felicity told her everything that had happened. She silently listened to her best friend rambling on and on about everything Oliver had said to her and how she spent the rest of the day alone, trying to clear her thoughts.

After a moment of silence, she spoke up.  
“Fee, my brother can be the biggest idiot on this planet. Trust me, I know that all too well. But you and I both know he made the wrong choice by telling you he can’t be with you. You haven’t seen the look on his face at Dinner half an hour ago when Mom asked you about Sam. Ollie clearly didn’t like hearing that. So what makes you think he doesn’t want to be with you, if it’s not his whole behavior towards you all the time?” Thea asked her, her whole posture telling Felicity she wouldn’t let her go without an answer. At least they were in the safety of her closet so no bypasser could eavesdrop.

“Oliver said it’s not that he doesn’t want to be with me, he said that it’s better for both of our sakes if we stayed friends only. He made his choice, Thea. And I did so, too.”  
With a shrug of her shoulders, she pushed herself out of the closet, feeling Thea following close behind.

“Fee, you have been pining for my brother for so long now. And now that you practically have him, you let yourself be stopped by some conventions or restrictions? Have you ever lived up to restrictions anyway? Certainly not when you ran away and traveled the country by bike.” Thea remarked and took a seat next to Felicity on the bed, digging her feet under the blanket while her back rested against the poster on the foot, so she could face her best friend the entire time.

“It’s not me, Thea,” Felicity began with a sad shake of head, “it’s Oliver. He’s having a problem with my age and the fact that I’m practically family to him, not the other way round.”

“Yeah then why don’t you fight and change his mind? At least that’s the advice you gave me about Tommy not so long ago. Why don’t you act on your own tips then?” Thea challenged, earning a sigh from Felicity.

After a moment of silence, trying to gather her thoughts under Thea’s expectant stare, Felicity spoke up.  
“When I was a little girl, my Mom told me a Story about a frog. She said if you put a frog into a bowl of water and start heating it, the frog will adjust his body temperature to the rising water temperature. Just when the water is about to reach boiling point, the frog cannot adjust any more and decides to jump out. He will try to do so but is unable because it has lost all its strength in adjusting with the rising water temperature. And soon the frog dies.”

Thea looked at her friend in total confusion, clearly not able to follow her at all.  
“What’s the point, Fee?”

“The point is, what killed the frog?”

“The boiling water!” Thea replied with a shrug.

“That’s the thing,” Felicity answered, “that’s what everyone will say, but the truth is, the frog dies because of its own ability to decide when to jump out. We all need to adjust with people and situations, but we need to be sure when we need to adjust and when it’s time to move on while we still have the strength. And that’s what I did with Oliver, Thea.” Felicity sighed with a frown on her face.

“Oh Fee,” Thea began with an apologetic smile and was about to crawl over the mattress to hug her friend but Felicity stopped her with a raised hand.

“It’s okay, really. And maybe it’s a good thing Sam asked me out. Maybe I need that kind of distraction right now to get back on track with the friendship between Oliver and me.” she shrugged but Thea could tell how much it still hurt her friend.  
“But enough about Oliver and me,” she suddenly spoke up, sounding more cheerful than just a few seconds before. “How things are going between you and a certain Merlyn heir?” Felicity grinned and waggled her eyebrows.

Thea cocked an eyebrow but shook her head with mild amusement shortly after.  
“Just as good as things are going between my brother and you, I’d say.”

“So you guys haven’t talked?”

“Yeah well there isn’t much to talk about,” Thea shrugged. “We kissed, celebrated the new year, partied a little… it was a fun night.” That sounded a bit too casual for Thea, even to Felicity’s ears, and the smirk that the younger Queen kept on her face all the time wasn’t missed by her either.

“What have you planned, Thea Queen?” Felicity asked her with a suspicious look on her face. It wasn’t normal for Thea to give up so easily once she set her mind on something. And with the determination Felicity had seen on her face when they took the photos she sneaked into Tommy’s gift, she knew the younger Queen had formed up some sort of evil masterplan already.

“Well other than you, I am going to fight for my man. Starting with a little teasing every now and then so he’ll realize how much he’s missing out.” Thea proudly grinned and Felicity could only imagine what Thea had planned in her evil mind.

“And what are you going to do about your parents? Or, even better, your brother? I mean, it’s not that you’re trying to seduce somebody he doesn’t know, Tommy is his best friend… I mean, huh?” she asked and wildly gestured with her hands, making Thea laugh out loud. Both women were equally glad they had someone to talk about their ‘men-related’ problems so openly with, not having to fear pity or admonishing words about the men being too old or them being too immature.

“I just need to be subtle.” Thea grinned proudly.

“Subtle. You?” Felicity snorted, earning a smack from her best friend. “Boy oh boy, can’t I wait to see that unfold in front of my eyes.” Felicity laughed and fell back on the mattress, pulling Thea with her.

The girls chatted some more about Tommy and Sam, consciously leaving Oliver out of the conversation which Felicity was very grateful for. After snuggling under Felicity’s sheets, the girls both dozed off watching ‘Home Alone’. It had gotten rare that the girls shared a bed, ever since Felicity accustomed herself in the large Mansion and didn’t feel intimidated by her room any more, the girls had started to sleep in their own beds again. Only on special occasions the girls spent the night together in one bed.

 

Just a few days later, Felicity and Sam had been the talk of the entire Highschool, even though they were nothing but friends only. Sam had taken her out to two more ‘Shake - Dates’ how he liked to call them and she took him up on his offer to go to a Football Game of the Starling Archers with him since she had never seen one before. But other than friendly hugging or sharing a Shake there hadn’t anything happened. And Felicity certainly didn’t intend to change that.

After their second Shake - Date, Sam told her he’d be graduating earlier, by the end of January, in fact, so he could begin his Scholarship earlier - at a College in Boston. As soon as Felicity heard that, she quickly deleted all thoughts about possibly growing closer to Sam. With him living on the other side of the Country, basically, there was no way to be in any sort of relationship.  
Sam must have sensed her change of behavior towards him after he told her, and, much to her relief, didn’t seem to push her for more than just being friends after that.

 

So when she entered the school two days later, being constantly followed by watchful eyes and not so subtle mumbles, her anger rose. Everyone assumed she was dating the famous Sam Covington and Sam gladly let them think so, apparently, but she was having none of that.

When one girl took up the courage and walk up to Felicity’s locker to ask her if the rumors were true about her and Sam, Felicity’s control snapped.  
“No, we are NOT dating and I would be very happy if you all could just shut up and mind your own business!” she yelled so loudly, half of the people in the hallway stopped their movements and watched her in surprise.

The whispers and mumbles stopped after that, at least for a day.

The next day Felicity came to School, she was greeted by another wave of whispers and even pointed fingers, followed by giggles. If Thea wouldn’t have been by her side that day, she would have run back home and just hid in her bed for the rest of the day.  
“Any problems?” Thea asked one of the guys that blocked their lockers, a stupid smirk on their faces.

“I heard Covington dumped you?” the guy began, speaking directly to Felicity whose expression changed from annoyed to completely shocked within a second.

“Yeah well, shitface… you heard wrong!” Felicity angrily spat back, crossing her arms over her chest.

The guy and his friends chuckled slightly before he leaned closer to her. “Well, if you need a little cheer-up, I know a lot of fun things to do.” he winked and pushed himself off her locker.

“Oh I know a fun thing to do as well… parking my fist into that lame excuse you call a face!” Felicity yelled at him, taking a step forward to emphasise her threat. Without looking back but clearly amused, the men turned and left the hallway, leaving a fuming Felicity and completely confused Thea behind.

“What was that?” Thea asked her while she watched Felicity angrily throw her stuff into the locker. It wasn’t like her to let out her anger on her beloved books, and Thea was sure she had never heard Felicity swear like that before, so she guessed her friend must have been immensely angry.

After watching Felicity for a moment, who didn’t even bother to answer her question, Thea made up her mind and grabbed her arm, stopping her from abusing her books even further.  
“You, me, coffee. Now.” Thea announced and already pulled Felicity through the hallway. Felicity just had the chance to kick her locker closed before they arrived at the Exit.

“Thea, we have classes in 5 minutes!” Felicity angrily protested, but quickly fell into step with the younger Queen.

“Fuck School. One day less of classes aren’t going to hurt any of our grades. And you, young Lady, are going to tell me what’s going on here today.” Thea demanded with a pointed finger before she unlocked her car and got inside. Felicity looked back at the School for a moment, contemplating, thinking about Moira’s words not to disappoint them and be respectful of her scholastic education. But then the images of people whispering things behind her back came to mind, and with a shake of head, she mounted the passenger seat and let Thea drive her out to the City, away from the School building. She didn’t even send Sam a second glance, who just was about to park his car when Thea sped from the parking lot, too furious about the rumors people had spread about her.

 

Luckily, Thea chose a Coffee Shop a little away from Queen Consolidated. The chances that they’d run into Moira or Robert were slim to non-existent since they always sent their EA’s to fetch them Coffee, but there were plenty of people from the Company who recognized Thea. And the one thing the girls didn’t need that morning was someone reporting the Queen heads that the girls were ditching School.

A Coffee and Muffin in hand, the girls settled for a table on the off side of the Shop. It wasn’t too crowded, only a few customers occupying a table and some more waiting in line for takeout, but Felicity still didn’t need anyone eavesdropping on their conversations.  
“So,” Thea began while picking Blueberries from her Muffin, “what was going on in School? Who was that idiot and why did he say Sam dumped you? I thought you guys weren’t dating?”

“We weren’t,” Felicity sighed and shrugged. “and I have no idea who that asshole was. I just wanted him to shut up and leave, that’s all.”

“Yeah, you don’t get to trick me with that, Fee. I know you. For quite a while now, actually. And I haven’t heard you use the word _‘shitface’_ ever before, not even a word that comes close to it. And the look on your face spoke volumes. So... why the sudden anger? It’s not like you.” Thea told her, looking at her friend with concerned eyes.

Felicity took a sip from her coffee, leaned back into the booth, looked around the Coffee Shop for a moment, seemingly deep in thoughts, before she turned her attention to her Muffin, nervously picking on the paper wrapper.  
“I have been bullied in High School in Detroit, shortly after we moved there.” she began and Thea’s eyes went wide in surprise. “After one month going to School there, apparently one of the Cheerleaders decided to pick me as her next target after I refused to give her the answers to a math test. So she started spreading rumours about me.”

“What kind of rumours?”

“Oh, they varied,” Felicity laughed ironically, “at first it was that I had slept with the entire group of school nerds, then that I sucked dicks behind the school dumpsters for 10 bucks because my family was so poor I couldn’t afford lunch at the Cafeteria. And the worst part about that? It was true that I couldn’t afford it, my adoptive parents nearly never gave me any school money. So that only spurred on the rumour.” she sighed and took a sip from her coffee. She had never told anyone that story before, not even her adoptive parents knew about that. One of her nicer classmates told the guidance counselor about it, who then asked Felicity if she wanted to talk, but Felicity always refused, saying everything was fine.

“But didn’t you do anything about it?”

“Well, what should I have done? Tell them to stop? Yeah, did that. Threaten them to tell the principal? As if they’d have cared much…” she frowned. “I stayed away from school for a week, hoping things would settle down with that. But when I came back, the rumors started again. Another aspect that made the decision to run away from there easier for me.” Felicity added, staring at her Muffin, almost lost in thought.

“Why didn’t you ever tell me? When we texted?” Thea asked her, a sad frown on her face.

“I didn’t want to worry you. And I didn’t want to think about it more than I already had to, anyway.” Felicity shrugged.

Thea watched her best friend for a moment, seeing the sadness slowly come back that she had last seen on her face when Felicity arrived in Starling City half a year ago. And Thea didn’t want to see her best friend like that.  
“I got an idea!” she suddenly announced, making Felicity’s head shoot up in surprise. She knew all too well that Thea’s surprises often meant a lot of trouble for the both of them.

“I’m almost scared to ask what it is.” Felicity mumbled over her coffee mug.

“First we need to do a little shopping. Then I’ll reveal the rest.” Thea grinned, earning an incredulous look from her best friend.

After eyeing her for a moment, contemplating Thea’s proposition, Felicity sighed and nodded slightly. They couldn’t go back to School for the rest of the day anyway after ditching almost two classes, so why not take the day off?  
“Fine. But I need to pee first.”

Thea excitedly clapped her hands together.  
“Awesome. I’ll wait in my car.” she squealed and followed Felicity out of the booth.

Watching Felicity head for Ladies Room, Thea made her way out of the Shop when she suddenly ran into Oliver and company.  
“Shouldn’t you be in school right now?” he asked her when he stepped back, clearly confused to see his little sister in the City at such an early time.

Thea eyed Oliver for a moment, then looked over to his ex-girlfriend Laurel standing next to him and back to her brother, folding her arms over her chest before she leveled him with a hard stare.  
“Free periods. But the real question should be… what are YOU doing here? With HER, of all people?” she snapped at him after sending evil glares at the brunette next to him.

Laurel huffed a laugh and was about to put Thea in her place when Oliver stopped her.  
“Speedy, that’s none of your business.”

“Will you excuse us for a moment?” she snapped at Laurel with an evil smile when she forcefully gripped her brother’s arm and pulled him away from the Shop entrance and out of Laurel’s hearing distance.  
“Are you stupid or something?” she snapped at him, not even caring how she was talking to her older brother. “I mean, of course I know you’re not the brightest candle on the cake, but this really is a new level of dumbness, even for you!”

“Thea, what are you talking about?” he angrily shot back, his patience already wearing thin.

“Felicity is in there, Ollie! And she’s about to come out any second. What do you think will happen once she sees you with your precious ex-girlfriend in tow two weeks after you practically dumped her? Huh?”

At her words, his eyes went wide in shock. Of course Felicity would be there as well. The girls rarely spent time apart from each other when they weren’t at school. Quickly looking over his shoulder and to the front entrance of the Shop, he saw Laurel still standing there, looking somewhat confused and annoyed. Thea didn’t even wait for a reply from him, she quickly stormed past him with an annoyed huff and walked over to her parked car.

Oliver didn’t think twice about it when he marched over to Laurel, grabbed her arm a little tighter than he intended to, before he forcefully pulled her away from the Shop entrance, all under the watchful eyes of his little sister.  
“Something has come up, we need to leave. Now.” he called out while walking them both away from the Shop and around the corner.

“What the hell is going on?” Laurel stopped him and pulled her arm out of his grasp, confusion written all over her face.

“I don’t think this was a good idea. If you want to apply for a job at QC you should set up an appointment with my father instead. I think that’s the better idea since I wouldn’t be of much help for you, anyway.” he told her and could watch Laurel’s confusion grow even further.

“That doesn’t even make any sense, Ollie! 30 minutes ago you agreed to give him my application and now you tell me you can’t be much of a help for me? What did Thea say to you?” Laurel replied, a suspicious look on her face.

With a sigh, he took a step back from her.  
“Thea doesn’t have anything to do with it. I agreed to help before I realized I won’t be able to help you more than you could help yourself if you go to my father personally.” he shrugged. “I gotta go now, something’s come up.” he added and before Laurel could protest, he had already rounded the corner and was out of sight.

 

Thea didn’t tell Felicity anything about her idea, even despite her friend pestering her with questions all the time. But as soon as they entered the Agent Provocateur Shop at the Mall, Felicity got suspicious.  
“Don’t stand there like an idiot, go and find a Bikini!” Thea called out and started looking through the racks. When she saw Felicity still standing in the middle of the Shop, unmoving, Thea turned around and sighed loudly. “We’re going to the Waterpark in Coast City that opened a few weeks ago! So if you would please go find a nice bikini, I don’t want to waste half the day here.” she told her and shooed Felicity to the other side of the Shop.

 

When they returned back home later that evening, Raisa served them a late Dinner since Robert and Moira had to leave early. When Felicity went to check on Castiel, Thea took the chance to talk to her brother. She still wanted to know why she saw him with his ex-girlfriend going for a Coffee.  
Hearing him talk over the phone, Thea didn’t even bother to knock when she waltzed into his room. As soon as he spotted her, he ended the call and looked up at her.  
“What do you want?”

“Talk to you. As long as Felicity is still with the horses.” Thea replied and plopped onto the leather couch in front of the fireplace.

“So this is about Felicity?”

“No, this is about you, Ollie. About you and the fact that I basically ran into you and your precious ex-girlfriend this morning. What was this about, anyway? I thought Laurel and you were done for months now?” she asked, not even trying to hide her annoyance towards the Lance - sibling.

“There’s nothing going on between Laurel and me, if that’s what you’re implying. We just ran into each other this morning and she asked me if I could be of any help getting her a job at the QC legal department since she’ll finish law school soon.” he shrugged.

“Yeah, sure.” Thea snorted, “if that’s really her intention, then why doesn’t she fill out an application form, like every other normal human being does?”

“That’s what I told her to do. Speedy, do you think I’m trying to hook up with Laurel again?” Oliver asked, her, his brows furrowed.

“I don’t know, do you? Because this morning, you two looked a little too comfy and cozy for being ex-partners I’d say.” she replied back with a cocked eyebrow.

“f course not, Thea!” Oliver shot back a little too loud, unhappy of being accused like this by his younger sister. Though he had to admit, Thea had a point. He wasn’t thinking about it when he agreed to Laurel’s offer to grab a coffee together, and to the normal eye it would have looked like two friends doing just that, but to Felicity, it would have looked like so much more, he was sure. After hearing that Felicity was still in the Shop, fearing she might see him with his ex-girlfriend so shortly after telling her he could only be friends with her for now, Oliver was sure Felicity would have taken the sight in front of her the completely wrong way. So panic kicked in and the only thing he could think of was getting away from there as quick as possible. He had seen the way Felicity reacted when she saw him with Amber at the Club on New Year’s, and he surely didn’t want a repeat of that look on her face. Especially not after so many things had changed between them in that short time span.  
“Speedy, Laurel and I are NOT dating, I wouldn’t ever consider dating her again at all! And I’m not trying to hurt Felicity, it was just pure coincidence that we ran into each other this morning. That’s all.” he told her, trying to sound as honest and sincere as he felt. It wasn’t that he often talked to his little sister so openly, especially not about his relationships, but he knew how close Thea and Felicity were and how protective Thea could get over her best friend. He couldn’t blame her.

After watching him for a moment, Thea relaxed her hard stare and nodded slightly.  
“Good. Because for Felicity it’s not easy. Don’t make it harder for her than it already is.” she told him and left the room as quickly as she had entered it 5 minutes ago.

“I don’t intend to,” Oliver mumbled into the emptiness of his room, a sad look on his face. “She means too much to me.”

 

 

Two weeks after that, things finally started to run as smooth as ever for Felicity.  
She stopped being the talk of School once a new, more interesting story started to float around and things with Oliver started to get easier as well. She still didn’t feel like actively seeking him out on anything, but whenever they shared a room, she didn’t feel that knot in her stomach any more, so she counted that as a win.

Tommy started to become an even more regular guest at the Mansion as soon as Thea started her ‘not-so-subtle’ wooing and every time Felicity saw Tommy’s nervous gulping, she had to suppress a laugh. At least Thea’s plan seemed to work.

 

Valentine’s Day had always been a day like any other for Felicity. In fact, she didn’t even think about it, until she woke up to find chocolates and flower bouquets on her desk. A little surprised, she hopped out of bed and tried to find any cards on them. Both bouquets were completely different, not even from the same flower Shops, so she assumed they all came from 2 different people. Tip-toeing over to Thea’s room, she found that Thea had also gotten some flowers, but unlike her, she only got one bouquet.

Since it was a Saturday morning, Tommy joined the Queen family for breakfast after coming home late with Oliver the night before. When the girls emerged from their rooms, all giddy and giggly, and sat down at the breakfast table, Moira gave them a curious look.  
“What has you in such a good mood this morning, girls?” she asked over her coffee mug.

“Fee got 2 flower bouquets for Valentine’s Day!” Thea excitedly announced before Felicity could stop her.

All heads surrounding the table shot up at that, clearly surprised. Felicity’s cheeks turned crimson red.  
“Oh shut up, you got one as well!” she called back, making Tommy’s head turn to look at the younger Queen in total confusion.

Moira gave both girls a warm smile.  
“Well it’s nice to see our girls being so well appreciated.”

 

Back at their room, Tommy quickly sat down on the couch while Oliver rummaged around in the closet.  
“Dude, you sent Felicity 2 flower bouquets? Don’t you think one would have been enough to prove your point?” he grinned sheepishly, trying to hide his uneasy feeling towards Thea having gotten a bouquet from a secret admirer as well. He thought about sending her one, he really did. But being too chicken of anyone finding out it had been from him, he didn’t.

“I only sent her one. The other isn’t from me.” Oliver replied when he left the closet a few seconds later, plopping down on the couch next to Tommy.

“So you got competition now?” Tommy replied with a grin, waggling his eyebrows.

Oliver sent his best friend an incredulous look and snorted.  
“I’m not fighting for her, Tommy. And even if I did, I’m sure this other guy isn’t any competition at all.”

“But you’d still want to know who it is, don’t you?” Tommy grinned earning a slight groan and a small nod from Oliver. “Well then sneak into her room and see if there’s a card attached.” Tommy offered with a sheepish grin.

“Yeah, nope! I’m not going to snoop around her room!” Oliver replied. “Maybe it’s just someone from her school.” he shrugged.

Oliver didn’t want to admit, but it bugged him that Felicity received another flower bouquet besides the one he sent. Not that he could ever tell anyone about it, but he wanted to put a smile on her lips for Valentine’s Day, even if they agreed to being friends only. But on that special day he couldn’t not do anything for her. Excited to see her reaction when she came down the morning, he hadn’t slept half the night. He even looked out of his window several times in the morning to check if the delivery service had stopped by already.  
When he returned from his morning run and saw Raisa carry his flowers and chocolate through the hallway and to Felicity’s room, a big smile painted on his face. He couldn’t wait until he saw her excited face and maybe even a small blush on her cheeks once she came downstairs.  
But then the girls came downstairs and Thea loudly announced that Felicity hadn’t gotten only one, but two flower bouquets. And Oliver instantly started to wonder if she liked his flowers more than the ones from that other guy.

 

The moment Thea saw Tommy’s slightly uncomfortable look when Felicity announced that Thea had gotten flowers as well, she mentally patted herself on the shoulder.  
Purchasing flowers for herself to make Tommy jealous was the best idea she ever had. It had the exact effect on him she had hoped. And now that she had made a point by showing him there were apparently other men who were interested in her as well, she was sure Tommy would finally come out of his shell and make a move towards her. At least more than he did ever since the New Year’s Party. Which was merely hugging her but otherwise keeping his distance as good as he could, even though Thea’s not-so-subtle flirts had some effect on him as well.  
And when she was about to finish her online purchase of flowers, she had to think of her best friend. Felicity had had a hard time in the last few weeks, trying to accommodate to the new situation with Oliver. And even if she didn’t show it on the outside, Thea knew that Felicity often struggled with accepting the situation as it was.  
And without giving it a second thought, Thea had ordered her best friend a flower bouquet as well, also sent from a ‘secret admirer’. That should cheer up her best friend a little, especially since Thea was sure Oliver wouldn’t be sending anything after friendzoning her a few weeks before.

 

So Felicity found herself in her room, staring at the two very different flower bouquets and the chocolate, wondering who could have sent them. One bouquet looked like a typical Valentine’s Day one, with a lot of red roses in it, coupled with a few white daisies and a lot of green around it. Sweet, but not too poshy.  
The other one, though, that came with the chocolate, was just drop dead gorgeous. It had at least 20 pink and white lilies in it and just very few greenery around it. Felicity couldn’t stop staring at it, even smelled the flowers a few times, completely mesmerized by the beauty of the bouquet.

She had never gotten anything for Valentine’s Day before and felt a little overwhelmed to be spoiled like that, but couldn’t help feeling a little excited about it as well. If she only knew who sent the flowers... Deep down she hoped the gorgeous bouquet of lilies had been from Oliver, but after their talk in the garden shed a few weeks ago, she didn’t dare hoping, sure he wouldn’t do anything for her on that special day. If only she knew.

 

2 months later the girls enjoyed their first warm day out at the Pool. Even though it was still the beginning of April, the weather was still sunny and warm enough to actually risk jumping in, but Thea preferred to occupy the lounge bed and chat a little with her best friend.  
“The boys are leaving in 4 weeks,” she began and could watch the frown on Felicity’s face grow. “I hate it.”

“Let’s not think about that now, okay? I’m sure we’ll both feel miserable enough once the time comes.” Felicity replied, earning a nod from her best friend.

When the glass doors suddenly opened and Tommy and Oliver stepped out to the Pool, both women looked up in surprise. Since there was still a lot to manage before they’d start their vacation, both men were rarely seen around the house the last few weeks. Starting from preparing and stocking up the Merlyn Yacht, on to getting all the necessary papers and permits. So it had been a few days since the girls had last seen the men.  
“Long time no see!” Thea loudly spoke up when the boys both sat down on a sun bed next to them. “Seems you can’t wait to get away from us soon enough.” she added with a slightly annoyed tone.

Felicity didn’t say anything. Through her sunglasses she just silently watched Oliver undress, able to catch a lately more rare glimpse of his lean body, without him noticing behind the safety of her sunshades. Though the situation between them had improved to the point that she didn’t feel the knot in her stomach any more, it still gave her an uneasy feeling. And the fact that the departure date for their vacation came nearer and nearer with every day didn’t help much with that feeling either.

During the last 3 months, Thea had become an immense help for her, and it seemed the younger Queen had invented some sort of a 6th sense for her best friend. Every time Felicity started to feel uncomfortable whenever Oliver was around, Thea instantly sensed it and helped her friend by either changing the topic or simply dragging her away with some sort of excuse. Most of the times, Thea’s over-protectiveness amused her, but there have been times, too, when Felicity was incredibly grateful for being rescued and distracted with shopping, a movie night or simply an afternoon with the horses, away from the Mansion.

The girls rarely talked about the fact that both ‘their’ men would be leaving for a god-damn year very soon, but Felicity often wondered how Thea could cope so well with it while she had trouble only thinking about Oliver being away for so long. And for Thea, it was twice as hard, with not only seeing her brother leave, but ‘her’ Tommy as well. Part of her wanted to ask Thea about it, ask her about her feelings and maybe even get a tip from her friend on how to handle her own feelings a little better. But the fear of having to talk about the vacation, having to really face the dreaded fact, made her hold back. Avoiding to think about it had worked pretty well for her so far, so every time Felicity thought about asking how Thea managed so well, she quickly shredded that thought again.

“There’s a lot to handle before such a long trip.” Tommy smiled and relaxed onto the lounge bed, earning a silent nod from Thea.

A weird silence fell over the Pool area after that without anyone knowing what to say. Thea and Felicity seemingly had one of their silent conversations and Tommy enjoyed the warming sun while Oliver kept his eyes on Felicity, subtlety checking her out.

He hadn’t seen her dressed so sparsely for a long while now, and coupled with the fact that he hadn’t seen much of her at all in the last few weeks due to their planning, he couldn’t deny that he missed her. So having the chance to admire her body wrapped in a bright blue and gold bikini hugging her curves just right, Oliver was sure to take up on that.

And within a few seconds, he realized that somehow she managed to get even more beautiful than the last time he saw her dressed like that; her stomach even flatter and more toned, her arms and thighs more defined and muscled, generally her entire body looked more shaped and defined, making Oliver wonder what kind of fitness Felicity had started, since it was obvious she was working out for a while now. Before he could get caught staring, he averted his gaze and looked over the Pool. 

 

Luckily, Tommy decided to break the silence after a while, when he excitedly announced that he was considering to get a Tattoo if they managed to find a good Tattoo Artist at some point on their journey. Oliver suggested he should keep his skin flawless, but Thea seemed to love the idea.  
“Tommy Merlyn with a hot tattoo on his shoulder? My panties would hit the floor so hard they’d be halfway to China.” Thea replied without looking up from her relaxing position on the sun bed, sunglasses firmly perched on her nose.

“Thea!” Oliver suddenly snapped from the side, sending glares at his sister while Tommy stared at the younger Queen in utter shock at that blunt statement.  
Felicity, meanwhile, burst out in a laughing fit and smacked her best friend on the arm.  
“What? It’s the truth.” she shrugged at Felicity while Tommy got up from the lounge bed.

“I need a cool down.” he announced and jumped into the Pool. Never before had Thea been so bold and open about flirting with him when others were around and it certainly confused Tommy. Not that he didn’t like it. He really did, but seeing the way Oliver reacted to the statement only confirmed that he could never start anything serious with the younger Queen sibling. Oliver would rip his head off, of that he was sure.

Oliver kept sending evil glares at his younger sister while Thea rolled her eyes and sighed loudly.  
“You’re the equivalent of a wet noodle when it comes to fun, big brother.” she told him, making Felicity giggle even more.

Luckily, the atmosphere between the 4 loosened up shortly after that, helping both the girls as well as Tommy and Oliver to forget that soon they wouldn’t be able to spend a relaxed afternoon like that together, at least for 12 months.

 

The night before Tommy and Oliver were about to leave, Felicity barely slept. She and Thea had spent the evening together and talked, hugged and bonded some more until late in the night. At some point, Thea had fallen asleep and Felicity retreated to her own room, hoping to at least catch some hours of rest as well.  
But after tossing and turning around for more than two hours in her bed, the need to get up and move her restless feet became too much to withstand. Dressed in some loose shirt and sleep shorts, she left her room and roamed the hallways of the Queen Mansion, not really a destination in mind other than tiring herself out so she could at least sleep for a bit.

So when she found herself in front of Oliver’s room, seeing a faint light shining out from under the door, she didn’t think twice about it when she knocked on his door.  
Not trusting her hands and feet any more, she waited for him to open the door. Mentally hoping for a second that he didn’t hear her, she was about to storm away from his room, already cursing herself for stupidly knocking at his door, in the middle of the night, without having any idea what to say to him at all.

But then the door slowly opened and his head peeked out, and her entire plan of storming away unseen had been destroyed. The slightly confused stare on his face when he first opened the door was quickly replaced for a warm smile when Oliver saw her standing there in the dark hallway, dressed in nothing but her sleep shorts and shirt.  
He immediately stepped aside and motioned for her to enter his room. After taking a tentative step inside, Felicity could see the packed bags lined up next to the fireplace, and the half empty closet. The sight was a new form of realization for her that hit her hard. Seeing most of his personal belongings packed up made her fully realize what was going to happen in a few hours.

When Oliver stepped closer to her and could see the tears welling up in her eyes while she took in the scene in his room, he didn’t know what to do other than feeling the deep need to hug her, hold her close and never let her go again.  
“Hey,” he began and tentatively laid a hand on her shoulder, pulling her out of her deep thoughts. “Can’t sleep?”

She bowed her head, sniffled once, wiped her nose and eyes with the hem of her shirt before she turned to him and shook her head.  
“You?”

“Me neither.” he admitted and pulled her over to his bed to sit down. It didn’t escape him how she tensed whenever he touched her or how she carefully kept a little distance between them when they sat down at the foot of his bed, and it hurt him more than he could admit.

“Still too much to plan for tomorrow?” she nervously asked him and fidgeted with the tissue he handed her, trying to keep her nervous fingers busy.

“No, everything’s settled and set already. There wouldn’t be much time left now, anyway, if Tommy or I had forgotten something.” he laughed slightly, hoping to cheer her up a little. He only received a tired smile, though.

A weird silence fell over them, making Felicity realize how much of a fool she had been for going over and knocking on his door without giving it a second thought. She didn’t even have any idea what to say to him when they were around each others with Thea and Tommy in the room, how was she supposed to find any words now that they were alone, just a few hours before Oliver would be leaving?

 

Clearing her throat, Felicity pushed herself up from his bed. “Sorry for interrupting you, Oliver. Of course you need to rest before such a long trip. I, uh... I should go back to my room.” she told him with a nervous smile, taking a slow step away from him when Oliver’s hand on her wrist stopped her.

“Don’t go, Felicity, please.” he told her with a hesitant and unsure voice, making her whole body freeze on the spot. It all felt like more than she could bear at that moment, but still her feet refused to carry her out of his room and back to hers. She looked at his hand surrounding her small wrist for a moment, before she could muster the courage to look up into his face.  
“Please... please stay here, just…” he sighed and swallowed the lump in his throat before he could continue while Felicity kept silently staring into his eyes, looking even more confused than him. After a small sigh, Oliver gave it another try.  
“I know it’s selfish of me to ask you to stay here, that I shouldn’t be doing it, but... Felicity please let me be a selfish man for this one night and ask this from you. If you feel it’s too much, anytime, you can go. Just... will you lie down with me? Even if it’s just for a few minutes?”  
The vulnerability in his eyes warmed her heart for a moment, pushing aside the confusion that kept floating through her brain ever since she stepped into his room. Before she could think herself out of it, she nodded, seeing the way his expression changed from anxious to relieved within a second.

Truth was, Felicity could have never said no to his offer, not even if she’d tried to. The fact that Oliver was the one who asked her showed her that he apparently struggled just as much as she did with everything.

He never let go of her hand when he got up from the mattress and rounded the bed. He never let go of her hand when he removed the sheets and waited for her to slide in. Felicity slowly tucked her feet under his sheets and tried to get comfortable on the pillows, watching him shut off the lights in his room except for the one on his nightstand before he slid down under the sheets as well. 

Felicity’s heart was beating like a jackhammer when Oliver turned on his side facing her before he laid his head on the pillow and watched her.   
“I was afraid you could be avoiding me until we have to leave tomorrow.” Oliver told her with a low voice while he watched her chest rise and fall with every nervous, deep breath she took.

“I don’t avoid you,” Felicity replied shakily, surprised to actually being able to find her voice. “I just have a lot on my plate right now… and I know you do, too.”

When a small smile crept up his lips, Felicity got a little confused if she said something wrong or maybe made another one of her innuendos.  
“If you were a little older, I would ask you to come with us. At least for a few weeks, until you couldn’t stand being around us any longer.” he laughed slightly, making Felicity snicker as well.

“I’m sure Tommy would object. Besides, you’re doing this trip for yourself and your friendship. Any other people would disturb that.” she smiled at him.

“You’re pretty awesome, you know that?” he smiled warmly at her, hugging the pillow he rested his head on, while he kept his eyes solely on her. Felicity inhaled slightly at his statement, but quickly regained her wits and returned his smile.

“You’re pretty awesome yourself.” she blushed. “I bet the European girls will be head over heels for you.” she added without being able to stop her mouth, momentarily shattering the tender moment between them. The smile from Oliver’s face vanished, only to be replaced with a serious, even a bit concerned one.

“Felicity,” he began and sneaked under her sheet, pulling her hand out and lacing it with his. “Please don’t think for a second I would jump the first girl as soon as we step on European ground. I’m doing this for Tommy and myself, not to hook up with as many women as possible.” he smiled at her while he rubbed soothing circles over the palm of her hand. Felicity could only nod, her throat suddenly too dry to form a word.

When she saw him checking his phone with a small sigh, she swallowed the lump in her throat and looked up at him.  
“When do you have to get up?”

“In 6 hours. Tommy will be here by 11.”

“You need to get some sleep. I should really leave.” She hoped he’d make her stay, but deep down she knew he had to get some rest with such a long and exhausting day ahead of them.

“No,” he smiled warmly and sneaked his arm under the sheet and around her waist. “Come here.” he mumbled and pulled her towards his hard chest. Felicity stiffened for a moment when his arms wrapped around him; she had never been this close to him before, let alone in a bed together. Mentally thanking god that Oliver was still wearing his sweatpants and a shirt, she willed her arms and legs to relax into his embrace. Snuggling into him she realized how much she really missed being close to him, not that it’d make things easier for her the next day. But she couldn’t care less at that moment, being held by Oliver, having the chance to breathe in his masculine scent that she loved so much while she slowly drifted off into a blissful sleep.

 

Oliver kept stroking her head for what seemed like hours, his other arm tightly wrapped around her waist, pulling her close to him. At some point, her breathing evened down a bit and he knew she had fallen asleep. Leaning back so he could watch her for a moment, able to fully take her in without her blushing or looking away, Oliver tried to memorize as much of her face as possible. The small, content smile on her lips while she slept. The tiny freckles on her nose. The little noises she made in her sleep. He watched her for a while, starting to wonder if being away from her for so long would be a good idea. Of course men would notice her, he wasn’t blind. Felicity was a beautiful young woman that seemed to become more and more gorgeous with every year she got older. Of course men would be interested in her, and maybe she would return that interest in some. The thought about her dating anyone that wasn’t him made Oliver’s stomach turn. He didn’t want that, he wanted her to himself, but of course he couldn’t put her in a glass case until she was old enough and Oliver had the guts to finally, officially approach her.

Snatching his phone from the bedside table, Oliver took a few pics of the sleeping brunette in his arms, as well as a few of them together. For the last picture he pressed his lips to her forehead, placing a gentle kiss there, before he stuffed the phone away again and snuggled back into the woman in his arms.  
“God... What are you doing to me?” he mumbled into her hair before sleep took over him as well.

 

Felicity awoke to slightly unfamiliar surroundings. When she opened her eyes and and took in the room around her, two things came back to her mind.  
One, she had knocked on Oliver’s door last night and agreed to lay down with him for a bit.  
Two, Oliver wasn’t anywhere to be seen, though she hear the shower running.

She quickly thought about her next steps. Should she stay and wait for him to finish his shower, maybe talk some more? That would have meant prolonging the inevitable goodbye. Or should she just go back to her room, hopefully unseen? That way she could at least avoid having to address the elephant in the room with Oliver, while he probably packed the rest of his belongings.  
Yeah, running seemed like a pretty good idea right now. Plus, she was used to running away. It had helped her several times in the past, after all.

Quickly slipping out of his way too comfortable bed, Felicity tried to make as less noise as possible, even though she was sure he wouldn’t be able to hear her over the running shower. As soon as she had the door firmly closed behind her, she dashed for her own room, only to run into a human wall. Muffling her yelp so she wouldn’t wake up anyone else, she stared in shock at a warmly smiling Raisa.  
“Good morning, Miss Felicity.” she whispered with a smile and watched Felicity’s cheeks turn beet red. Felicity only mumbled a quick ‘good morning’ back before she again was off to her room, feeling way too embarrassed for 9 in the morning.

 

Felicity carefully avoided going downstairs if she didn’t absolutely had to, and thankfully, Thea apparently decided to do exactly the same. The girls told Raisa they would be having breakfast in their room and surprisingly, Moira didn’t intervene. She had seen the look on her daughter’s face when the staff carried down Oliver’s bags, and she didn’t want to force her daughter to sit at the table together with them.

After that, Thea excused herself from Felicity for a moment. She didn’t say why, but since Felicity had seen a particular black Merlyn Maserati in the driveway, she suspected Thea wanted some alone-time with Tommy - if that was possible at all, given the house full of people.

And when the time came to say goodbye, Felicity felt completely numb and unable to move.

 

Everyone had come together at the front entrance while the staff loaded Oliver’s bags into the SUV. They hugged, laughed a bit, and hugged some more. And Felicity watched him leave from the window of her bedroom.  
Oliver had come up to say goodbye and she had hidden in her room, unable to look him in the eyes without bursting out crying. In the end, Moira had come upstairs, saying Oliver and Tommy would be devastated if she didn’t even say goodbye. Thinking that even Thea gathered the strength to be there, she went downstairs, gave Tommy a loose hug and shook Oliver’s hand while muttering a simple and “Nice trip.” and had run off again with the excuse of homework to do.

When Oliver saw her dashing back inside, tears pricking in her eyes, he was about to follow her, only to be stopped by his best friend.  
“Don’t make it harder for her than it already is.” Tommy mumbled.

 

Now there she was, staring out of the window in her room, right onto the driveway of Queen Mansion, watching Moira and Thea say goodbye to their son for one last time as Oliver climbed into Tommy’s car.

As the cars left, Felicity crumbled on the floor, burst out crying so painfully that she felt her heart was physically aching. When she heard footsteps coming down from the hallway though, she quickly got up and sped into her bathroom, locking the door firmly behind her before she turned on the shower to muffle her cries.

 

It was the persistent knocking on the bathroom door and Thea’s raspy voice that pulled her out of her thoughts. She didn’t even bother to wipe away her tears or shut off the hot water, steaming up the small bathroom. She just unlocked the door to let Thea in, who quickly locked it behind her again, plopped onto the small rug next to her, and cried with her for a while.  
Neither of the girls said a word for what felt like hours. Thea was the first who pulled herself together and wiped her nose before she got up and washed her face. Felicity didn’t feel like getting up of doing so, and only Thea’s persistent nudging and pulling on her arm made her get up from the cold floor and follow her back into the room. They didn’t even bother to undress, Thea just pulled back the covers and both girls slid wordlessly into bed. Even though it was barely 1pm, and both girls knew they wouldn’t be able to sleep with their minds racing like that, Felicity was grateful for the silent support her best friend sent her.

Luckily, both Moira and Raisa didn’t interrupt them. Moira knew how hard it was for the girls to see Oliver go. He was Thea’s older brother, after all. And with Felicity, she could only assume that they have grown close in the last 10 months as well, so she decided to let them both grieve for the rest of the day. At least they had each other and wouldn’t be alone. 

 

Contrary to their beliefs, the girls had fallen asleep again after a while. It was Thea who was the first one to awake, which was unusual. She could only imagine how exhausted Felicity must have been and decided to let her sleep a little more. Her stomach grumbled and she wanted to slip out to get them both something to eat when Felicity opened her eyes and sat up.  
“Where are you going?”

“See if Raisa could make us a Sandwich or something. Want to come with me?” Thea asked her with a gentle, soft voice, something Felicity had rarely heard from her best friend.

“Can we get out of here for a while? I feel like getting a cabin fever.”

“Let’s get the horses ready then.” Thea offered with a smile and Felicity quickly followed her out of bed. Spending the afternoon with Thea and Castiel would be a welcomed distraction.

 

When they returned home 3 hours later, just in time for Dinner, Moira suggested that, much to the girls displeasure, they should join at least one meal with the family that day. So both girls reluctantly took a seat at the table and silently ate what Raisa served them, all under the watchful eyes of Moira Queen.  
“Did you have a nice day out with the horses?” Moira asked them, hoping to at least engage them in some form of conversation, but only earned two half hearted nods from the girls. Deciding not to press matters any further and let them grieve for the rest of the night, she didn’t say anything else, letting a weird silence fall over the table.

 

That night, Felicity barely slept. She missed Oliver even though she had never really spent the nights with him. Well, except for the night before. But since she passed out rather quickly, she didn’t really count that.  
But knowing that he wasn’t around any more, only 3 rooms down the hallway, for the next 12 months made her heart so heavy that she felt like crying, even though she was sure she had already cried all tears for at least the next few days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll try and work the whole trip into one Chapter so our two lovebirds will be back together very soon!
> 
> See you in 2016!  
> Thank you for being so awesomely awesome, y'all! :)


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy new Year everybody! :)
> 
> Sorry for the little delay, but I've practically been on Baby-watch the last week, monitoring my mare who's due with her first foal in a short while. Feels like I'm pregnant myself! :D
> 
> Since I promised to post their entire trip in one Chapter and I intend to keep my promises, this Chapter turned out to be a beast of almost 18k words... whew!
> 
> Oh hey, **miriam1977** and **olivrsfelicity**... this one's for you.  <3

Felicity’s very tight schedule helped her dealing with the sadness, not giving her much time to think about Oliver, except for the moments she had to herself when she was with Castiel.  
Thea, feeling a little left out, decided to join Felicity on her Yoga sessions, so she could spend some more time with her best friend. The girls quickly decided to add boxing to their gym schedule, with both needing to blow off some steam every now and then. Felicity didn’t get to visit the Orphanage as often as she wished to any more, but with school, exams, tutoring, yoga, boxing and Castiel there wasn’t much time left for visits to the Orphanage.  
Her days went smoothly, as long as she managed to keep them cramped and packed. The only time she didn’t seem to find any rest were the nights.

It had been nearly a week since Oliver and Tommy left and so far she had only gotten two texts, letting her know they arrived at the Yacht Docs in Florida safe and sound and were about to get the Yacht ready for their trip. Oliver and her had both decided not to send too many messages or to call too often so it wouldn’t be too hard for her, and Felicity had agreed to that. But now, after barely having heard from him in 7 days, she hated the agreement already.

 

One night, Felicity found herself wandering the empty halls of the Queen Mansion yet again. Staying in her room felt like something she couldn’t stand from time to time, so she usually found herself a different place to sleep. Most of the times it had been the garden shed, sometimes the empty guest room in the East Wing. No bed helped her find any real rest, though.

Finding herself in Oliver’s room though, had been a first for her since her sleeping habits started. For a moment she thought about maybe invading his privacy if she snooped around his room without him being there. But then she quickly remembered that he’d be gone for 11 more months and probably couldn’t care less. And since Moira and Robert were out of town for the weekend, there was noone who could walk in on her and see her sleeping in a bed she shouldn’t be sleeping in.

To Felicity, these were enough reasons to justify hopping into Oliver’s bed and bury herself in his sheets. Everything still smelled like him, even though Raisa had changed the sheets shortly after he left. But inhaling deeply, she could still smell the distinctive scent that was 100% Oliver. And for the first time in almost 4 weeks, it didn’t take her a few silent tears and hours to fall asleep, but only 3 deep breaths, Oliver’s scent in her nose and the feel of him wrapped around her, even if only through his sheets.

When Thea found her the next morning, peacefully asleep in her brother’s bed, she didn’t wake her. Things were being hard for Thea as well, but since she had a little more frequent contact with Tommy and Oliver, she managed. Felicity, on the other hand, was a total mess and it really surprised her that her mother hadn’t said anything about it yet. It was obvious Felicity was feeling terrible, lacking of sleep and purposefully tried to stuff her schedule as full as possible, only to have no time to dwell in thoughts of the man she so dearly missed.

So when Thea found her in Oliver’s bed, seeing her deep asleep for the first time in almost 4 weeks, she decided to give her best friend the morning off and join her school friends alone for the shopping trip. Felicity would need the sleep more than a few new clothes anyway.

 

After 8 weeks of being away, sleeping in Oliver's bed had become a regular thing for Felicity, every time the Queens were away. And for nights she couldn’t sleep in his bed, she managed to steal some of his shirts and sleep in them. Raisa had obviously noticed the shirts and button-downs in her hamper that were most definitely not hers, but she either didn’t care, or she decided not to say anything about it. Either way, Felicity was glad about it.

Till that point Oliver had sent weekly texts to let her know he was fine and had even facetimed her once, but after a few very stiff words and Oliver telling her he missed her, she had no idea what to say any more. And just as they ended the call, Felicity broke down in tears, not even Thea being able to calm her.

So Thea sent her brother a short text, letting him know about the state her best friend was in and not to call Felicity for a while until she felt a little better. That’s when Oliver started texting Thea more regularly, asking her about Felicity at least once a week, always getting the same response from his sister; that she’s miserable, crying herself to sleep at least twice a week, sneaking out of her room to sleep in his bed when she thinks no one notices, ... things like that. Thea knew it surely didn’t help making feel Oliver better, but at least he would understand now what he really left behind in Starling City.

 

3 months after Tommy and Oliver had left, it looked like Felicity started to feel a little better. Thea kept a close eye on her friend though, after she realized Felicity lost her appetite and barely ate anything lately, but on the other hand upped her training schedule.  
After having a pep-talk in that Felicity didn’t get to finish one sentence, Thea railed and ranted at her, using her loud voice, telling her that she wouldn’t accept losing her best friend because of her idiot brother. Said pep-talk led to quite a few tears, some more confessions of their feelings and a photo that Thea snapped of them both, sending it to Oliver and Tommy.  
Felicity protested at first, not wanting to let Oliver see the state she was in. Even she herself had noticed the weight loss, and if Thea had noticed, too, Oliver would most probably see it, as well. But after 30 minutes of pestering from her best friend, Felicity went to fix her hair, put on a loose shirt and relaxed with Thea on the pillows of her bed when the younger Queen snapped a pic of them and sent it to Oliver.

It took him all of a few minutes to answer, where he sent a pic of Tommy and him, jet-skiing together, both having a stupid grin on their faces. Felicity didn’t want to see the picture, but when Thea simply sent it to her phone, she allowed herself to look at it as soon as she had tucked herself in his bed again. It was the first picture she had seen of him since their last facetime call months ago, and he certainly looked as handsome as ever. His hair had gotten a little longer than he usually wore it, and he got a deep tan on his skin, making him look even more ripped and handsome, but the deep blue of his eyes was what kept her staring at the picture. She missed him dearly, even after 3 months that he was away now.

 

With Felicity’s 17th birthday around the corner, everyone got in a festive mood. Everyone, except Felicity. Sleeping in Oliver’s room or in his clothes had helped her getting her normal sleep habits back at least partially, and with Thea annoying the hell out of her all day her mood had gone up, too, but still she wasn’t in any shape or form interested to celebrate her birthday. Especially not since she knew it wouldn’t be as awesome as her last one, where Oliver gave her the amazing bracelet that she kept admiring every night ever since.  
The only way to stop Thea from planning anything for her was allowing her to throw a ‘super awesome’ Party for her 18th birthday the following year and after contemplating Felicity’s offer, Thea gladly accepted.

 

With Tommy and Oliver being somewhere in Europe for almost 4 months now, Felicity didn’t feel like doing much more than sharing a slice of cake with her foster family for her birthday, but when Raisa handed her an envelope from Oliver with a card, saying “There are far better things ahead of you than you ever leave behind. Happy birthday.”, Felicity’s heart maked a little jump. By no means did she expect to receive anything for her birthday, and most certainly not from Oliver, who was more than 6000 miles away at that moment.

After reading the card with Oliver’s neat, distinctive handwriting on it multiple times, she opened the second, smaller envelope, revealing two flight tickets to Lisbon, Portugal, with a little note attached.  
 _’These are for Thea and you so you can join Tommy and me on our cruise through Portugal for a weekend. Things are already settled with Mom; you will be taken to the airport on Monday evening. See you in 4 days. Oliver’_

 

Felicity’s eyes went wide in shock before she ran upstairs to Thea’s room so fast she was surprised she didn’t tumble over her own two feet. The excited squealing sounds coming from Thea’s room for more than 5 minutes were the first real positive reactions Moira and Robert had gotten from their girls ever since Tommy and Oliver had left, so hearing them so excited about the gift made them realize they made the right decision by allowing them to go on that trip.

 

Relaxing on the sun deck of the Merlyn Yacht, under the warming afternoon sun of Portugal, Oliver laughed out loud when he received a text message saying nothing but _‘Aaaaaaah!!!!’_ from Felicity. It had been the first message from her in more than 10 weeks and seeing her name pop up on the screen of his phone made him very happy.  
 _‘I take it Raisa handed you your gift? Make sure to pack enough Bikinis, the weather is terrible down here. Can’t wait to see u! xo’_ he quickly texted back before he could stop himself. It was the first real message he had sent to Felicity ever since she asked him to stop texting him weeks ago. And even though Thea updated him regularly on how Felicity was doing, he couldn’t deny that he missed talking to her very much. The picture he had taken of her the night before he left helped him every time he felt the need to just see her, but still he missed hearing her voice. He also cherished the picture Thea had sent him 4 weeks ago, even though he could clearly see Felicity had lost some weight and didn’t look fully comfortable and relaxed. Thinking it might be his doing to see her in this state, at least partially, sent another pang to his heart. He didn’t want her to feel bad, Felicity should be enjoying her life just as much as he did at the moment.

 

Knowing he wouldn’t be home for her 17th birthday, Oliver had talked to Tommy a few weeks before their trip started, discussing the possibility of having the girls with them, at least for a few days over Felicity’s birthday. Tommy wasn’t one to disagree with that, because it meant being able to spend a few days with Thea, too. So they discussed their idea with Moira early on, who agreed under the condition that the girls’ grades needed to stay immaculate until then and that neither Tommy nor Oliver dragged them into any kind of trouble.  
Oliver had managed the rest, booked the flights and handed Raisa the envelope with the request to hand it to Felicity on her birthday.

_‘I can’t wait to see you, too’_  
It was that short sentence that did so much for Oliver. For months, Felicity hadn’t expressed her feelings towards him, ever since their talk in the garden shed she had closed herself off completely, and Oliver hated it. And when Tommy and he left for their trip, things had gotten only worse. Oliver knew it would be hard for her, and that she would struggle a few days. But when Thea told him that Felicity only slept the nights she spent in his bed and that she always kept one of his shirts tucked under her pillow, he fully realized how deep in Felicity must have been for him. Much more than he would have guessed, judging from her behavior.

So that small, short sentence made him smile wider than he had for a few weeks. Even Tommy instantly noticed it.  
“Dude, you’re making that Felicity - face.”

“What?” Oliver looked up from his lounge bed.

“That grin. You haven’t grinned like that for weeks. Looks like the ‘Felicity finally texted’ - grin.” he chuckled, earning an even wider grin from his buddy.

“They’re coming over in 4 days.”

At that statement, Tommy’s eyes went wide.  
“Oh right, it’s Felicity’s birthday today! So Moira really let’s them come over?”

“Looks so. At least the girls already got the tickets.”

“Man, we need to clean up the Yacht.” Tommy groaned and looked around, earning a loud laugh from Oliver.

“Didn’t you hire staff for that, Tommy?”

“Yeah. Until you scared her away with your growly face, remember?” Tommy replied, cocking his eyebrow t his best friend.

“I just told her I’m not interested in her. I don’t care if she offers to clean naked, it’s not even my boat!” Oliver shrugged with a laugh.

“Yeah but did you have to be so gruffy?”

“Did she have to be so persistent?” Oliver shot back with another shrug. “YOU would have snapped at her, too, if she had ignored your multiple, very clear refusals.”

“God, Felicity turned you into such a sensitive sap. A year ago you would have jumped that girl before even knowing her name.” Tommy mumbled with a laugh and leaned back into his lounge bed, ignoring the mess around them. There was still enough time to either find a new cleaner - or take care of the mess themselves before the girls would arrive.

 

The surprise left Felicity so excited, she didn’t know what to do with her energy other than bouncing around in Thea’s room, eager to do something. It was a rare sight for Thea, seeing her best friend so giggly and full of life, but she certainly didn’t complain.  
“Please stay like that from now on, Felicity. I prefer bouncy-Fee over sad-Fee ANY day.” she laughed, earning a smack from the birthday girl.

“We need to go shopping later! Or tomorrow! Oliver said to bring plenty of bikinis because the weather is _‘terrible’_ ” she giggled, emphasizing the last word with little bunny ears.

“Oliver said?” Thea repled with a surprised grin, making Felicity blush within a second. “Sheesh, had I known that all it’d take would be a letter from my brother to cheer you up like that, I would have forced him to send you one at least each week.” she snorted, making Felicity’s face fall into a frown for a moment.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want to talk to Oliver, or maybe even see him via FaceTime. It was more that she couldn’t stand seeing his stupidly perfect face through the screen of her phone, knowing he was still so far away. And since she very well couldn’t tell him how much she missed him all the time, there wasn’t really much they could talk about other than his vacation or her boring school stuff. And hearing him raving about their awesome trip would only have made things harder for her. So she decided to avoid talking to him altogether. Living in denial had only helped so far though, because after a few weeks she realized that having absolutely no direct contact with him was even harder for her than possibly hearing him dreaming about the awesome places they’ve been to.

Getting the letter from him for her birthday was just the confirmation she needed. So after 4 long months, Felicity decided she couldn’t keep handling the situation the way she had so far any longer. Talking to each other at least once every two weeks and maybe a few texts every now and then shouldn’t be so bad. But first, she would get to see him again, even if only for 3 days, and that fact made her more giggly and excited than she had ever been.

 

“Yeah, I kind of screamed at him via text message as soon as Raisa had handed me the envelope.” she giggled, earning a snort from Thea.

“It’s relieving to see you in such a good mood again, Fee. I missed that.” Thea announced and wrapped her best friend in a tight hug. “Happy birthday. Shopping is on me later.”

“Careful what you promise. I might get a shopping spree as soon as we set foot in the Mall.” Felicity giggled and loosened the hug from her friend.

“I certainly hope so. Your wardrobe still needs to be spiced up a little. But for now, we’ll enjoy the day and take the horses out. Raisa’s already packing us lunch.” Thea proudly announced, earning an eager nod from Felicity. She hadn’t been in such a good mood for a while now, and being able to spend the day with her best friend and the horses certainly sounded like the perfect idea.

 

After nearly 3 hours in the saddle and two picnic breaks where the girls vividly discussed what they wanted to do once they arrived at the Merlyn Yacht (jetskiing with their men, among other things), they decided to head back to the Mansion so they still had enough time to go shopping. 

On their ride back, Thea offered to race back to the stable, a playful glint in her eyes.  
“Let’s see if Castiel still has it in him.” she challenged Felicity and before she could blink, Thea was off with her horse. It took Felicity a few moments, but eventually, she closed the distance to Thea, easily galloping next to her. The girls laughed and spurred on their horses, neither wanting to loose until suddenly, Castiel tripped over a tree root and stumbled, throwing Felicity out of the saddle and high through the air.

 

She landed with a loud thud and it took Thea a moment to stop her horse and turn it around, racing back to her.  
“Shit, Fee! Are you okay?” she squealed and jumped out of the saddle, closing the distance to her friend in quick strides.

“Yeah,” Felicity laughed slightly when she rubbed her dirty hands on her pants, trying to get rid of the dirt on her face and in her hair. “but my butt hurts.”

 

Thea’s expression quickly changed from worried to mildly amused when she saw Felicity sitting up on the ground, already picking leaves and pine cones out of her hair. Both girls watched each other for a moment, before they burst out laughing.  
“Well, it’s been 2 years since I last fell off a horse. Guess Castiel deemed that long enough.” she giggled, wiping her palms on her pants one last time before getting up from the ground.

That’s when she felt it. The searing pain shooting up her leg, coming from her left foot. Felicity gave it another try, but being unable to put any weight on it without wincing in pain, Thea needed to help her get up from the ground.

It took the girls 10 minutes until they had Felicity placed back in Castiel’s saddle, slowly trotting the way back to Queen Mansion, all while Felicity tried to ignore the throbbing pain in her left foot. The girls didn’t talk, the light and cheerful mood from earlier completely gone.  
As soon as they arrived at the property, Thea called John Diggle for help. The head of security for the Queen family came rushed outside and over the pasture when he saw the disheveled state Felicity was in, helping her off the horse and back into the Mansion. 

 

Once back in her room, Mr. Diggle placed her on her bed, closely followed by Thea who never left her side. The personal Doctor for the Queen family, Dr. Bernstein, arrived just 15 minutes after Raisa made the call. With Moira and Robert still out for work, Felicity was joined by the worried eyes of Thea, Raisa and John Diggle when Dr. Bernstein removed her left boot and started examining her ankle. Felicity tried hard not to wince or whimper, but as soon as the shoe was gone, the full evidence of what had happened became visible.

Her left ankle, now swollen almost twice it size, was already sporting various shades of blue and purple, making Felicity wince every time Dr. Bernstein touched it.  
“That doesn’t look good, Felicity.” the Doctor spoke with a worried tone.   
“I can’t make a clear diagnosis as long as I haven’t seen x-rays of it, but so far it looks like you broke your ankle.” she told her, and just at that moment, Felicity didn’t even try to hide her sadness. A silent tear crept his way dawn her cheek at that statement and Thea was by her side in an instant.  
“I’ll wrap this up and then we need to take you to a hospital and take x-rays. Don’t worry, dear, maybe it looks worse than it actually is.” the Doctor tried to assure her with a small smile and nod, but Felicity didn’t even listen. She just looked at her best friend, fearing that this stupid mistake might cost her the chance to visit Oliver.

 

2 hours later, Felicity found herself in the waiting room of Starling Grand Hospital, Thea and John Diggle close by her side. After the Doctor returned with the x-rays, telling her the ankle was indeed broken but luckily, didn’t require surgery, Felicity only wanted to go home and bury herself under her sheets for the rest of the day. But they still needed to wait for the cast to dry; that stupid cast that now cost her her trip to Portugal. Anger welled up inside her at the thought, anger about the stupid Doctors who told her that with such a fresh break she won’t be allowed to fly, anger at that stupid cast that made it almost impossible for her to walk, or even stand; but most of all, she was angry at herself for being so reckless and incautious, so shortly before that trip.

After handing her some light pain meds and her release papers, Felicity wanted nothing more than to go home. The nurse insisted on rolling her out in a wheelchair, but when Felicity sent her the angriest, most evil glare John Diggle had ever seen, he quickly scooped her up and carried her out of the Hospital and back to the parked car, closely followed by Thea, who carried the crutches Felicity would have to use the coming weeks.

 

As soon as they were back at the Mansion, Felicity half passed out from the pain meds, Thea texted Oliver, telling him they won’t be able to make it to Portugal after Felicity had a riding accident. She frowned, thinking about Tommy and not being able to see him, before she decided to send him a short text as well.  
If she couldn’t tease him personally, she could very well do so over the phone.

 

It was past 1am already when Oliver’s phone buzzed, pulling him out of his sleep. As soon as he opened his eyes though, to read the text message his sister had sent him, he shot up from his bed, eyes open wide.

Within seconds he had dialed Felicity’s number.

 

Felicity groaned when the constant buzzing sound from her phone on the nightstand woke her up. Her entire body felt like she’d been overrun by a truck and her foot thumped in the cast. She didn’t even bother to fully open her eyes, she just blindly accepted the call and groaned into the phone.  
“‘ello?”

“Felicity, are you okay?”

It was Oliver’s worried voice that instantly ripped her out of her pain-induced sleep and broke all dams in her. The first few silent tears streamed down her face, wetting Oliver’s shirt that covered her pillow.  
“No,” she whispered into the phone, and it took her a moment to gather her voice again. “I’m sorry I ruined your surprise.”

“Oh sweetheart, there’s nothing to be sorry for.” he told her with a soft voice, trying to calm her. Even though he could only hear her breathe and sniffle into the phone most of the time, Oliver was immensely grateful for being able to hear her voice over the phone, being able to speak to her again after such a long time. “How are you feeling?”

“I miss you.” she suddenly burst out crying, silently sobbing into the pillow while keeping her phone in a death grip. She had never allowed herself to show that kind of weakness towards others and it just broke Oliver’s heart. Felicity crying was something Oliver absolutely, 100%, could not deal with. Especially since he was undoubtedly the cause of those tears.

“Hey,” he began in a soft voice, trying to soothe her somehow, “please don’t cry, sweetheart. I miss you too, more than you’d guess. Don’t worry about the trip, we’ll reschedule as soon as Tommy and I arrive on the Azores, okay? Just try and heal quickly.” He tried to calm her, soothe her in any way, making him realize he never hated being so far away from her than at that exact moment. The urge to pull her onto his lap and just hold her nearly became too much for him. “It’s much nicer there than the Portugal mainland, anyway.” he joked, trying to enlighten the mood somehow.  
Felicity didn’t reply, but after some seconds of silence, he heard a sniffling sound and guessed she was trying to collect herself a bit.  
“How are you feeling right now?”

“My foot hurts, my back feels like I’ll be sore for two weeks, and my head spins a little, but I’d say that’s more from the stress than anything.”

“You shouldn’t be stressed, Felicity. It’s your birthday.”

“Terrible day. Can’t wait for it to be over.” she mumbled into the phone with a grumble in her voice that made Oliver chuckle slightly.

 

In the end, they talked for almost 30 minutes with Oliver telling her about all the places they’ve been to and all the adventurous things they had done so far. Tommy being sea-sick for over a week made Felicity giggle and Oliver loved hearing that sound from her again. Felicity didn’t have much to tell other than her usual school stuff and freetime activities. But it wasn’t that Oliver expected her to load him with tons of News; she could have read him the Newspaper and he would still have been smiling like a little kid in the Candy Shop. Hearing her voice did these things to him. Especially after such a long time.

 

They agreed on talking at least once a week and Felicity already started making plans and a timetable when Oliver cut her off, telling her he couldn’t always guarantee to have service, depending on where they were. They agreed on texting each other a few times a week and discussing time for a call then.  
To Felicity, all this sounded like heaven. She knew not hearing from him while he was away was a terribly hard thing for her, but now that she had talked to him so relaxed and openly, she wondered how she had gotten through the last months without hearing his voice just once.

After promising him to keep Oliver updated on the healing process of her foot, Felicity reluctantly had to end the call. She didn’t want Moira or Robert to witness any private conversations between her and their son, so she wished Oliver a good time in Portugal and promised to text as soon as something new came up.

 

The next time Felicity and Thea would have had the chance to visit the boys, school exams thwarted her plans. With 3 important exams coming up and some possible scholarships for well known Colleges in the loop for Felicity, she by no means could take some days off and leave her school duties behind. She would have done so in a heartbeat, knowing it was just a few days and that she could study in advance, but she knew that Moira would never allow and Oliver wouldn’t want her to jeopardize her future only to visit him for a few days.

When she told him, Oliver frowned but understood. Thea, though, pouted and sulked at yet another missed chance to see her brother after almost 7 months of being away from Starling City, but – most of all – see Tommy Merlyn again.

 

After that, they didn’t get any more chances to visit the boys. Since Oliver and Tommy only planned out the first half of their trip and decided to be spontaneous about the rest, there was no chance the girls could have met them somewhere. With them sailing from Europe back to the US, it also meant that they only very sporadically had the chance to speak because of the time differences and mostly, the trouble to get a phone-service. Whenever Oliver got the chance to, he tried calling Felicity, though. One time they even FaceTimed, making Felicity blush when she saw Oliver only in his swim shorts, lying on the deck of the Merlyn Yacht, sunglasses perched on his nose, whereas she was sporting one of his button-downs, already prepared for bed.

Their interactions had become a lot more relaxed the more often Felicity and Oliver talked and everyone in the Mansion could feel the change of behavior in Felicity as well. Ever since her accident she seemed more happy, more at ease again and even though no one besides Thea knew the true reason behind it, everyone appreciated seeing Felicity smiling again after nearly 6 months of grieving over something no one could really figure out.

 

With the Christmas time approaching, though, the gloomy mood returned for the girls. Felicity knew how much Thea missed Oliver, and given the fact that she not only missed her brother, but his best friend, the man she was so heavily crushing on as well, she could only give her props for being able to hold together so well. Much better than Felicity herself in the beginning.

Since neither Tommy nor Oliver could join them for Christmas Eve, the Queens decided to only have a small Dinner and kept the gift exchange modest. After they sat together, even inviting Raisa to sit and dine with them, Moira led them to the christmas tree and started handing out gifts for everyone.

 

Both Thea and Felicity enjoyed the holiday with their parents, but deep down they missed Oliver and Tommy too much to fully appreciate the night. It wasn’t the same with them gone. Felicity had realized that on her birthday just like Thea on hers, but now, under the Christmas tree with Robert and Moira, it became more evident than ever that the family was incomplete.

 

After apparently all gifts had been handed out and Thea and Felicity both started unwrapping, Moira grabbed behind the tree and pulled out two more gifts, each neatly wrapped and specifically labeled, and handed them to two very confused looking teenagers.  
“Now don’t look so surprised, open them up.” Moira laughed and watched both girls look at each other for a moment before they grabbed the boxes and started unwrapping them.

Both packages held a neatly framed picture of Oliver and Tommy swimming with Dolphins. The men smiled into the camera, proud smirks on their faces. The pictures were nothing too fancy, nothing like the stuff the boys had gotten them for their previous birthdays or christmases. But getting something from them, anything, wasn’t what either of them expected, so the framed pictures were greatly appreciated. When Moira and Robert left the room for a moment, Thea leaned over to Felicity, giggling that the pictures probably would have been a lot less modest, had the boys known that neither Moira nor Robert would’ve seen them.

 

Later that night the girls found themselves their rooms, each of them admiring the framed pictures Oliver and Tommy had sent them.  
Thea, feeling cheeky, sent Tommy a text, thanking him for the picture and wished him a merry christmas, but added that the picture was a bit too modest for her personal taste. With a grin she put her phone aside and was about to fall asleep, when suddenly her phone chirped up.

Quickly unlocking it, her grin widened when she saw Tommy had texted back.  
 _‘Merry Christmas to u, too. I guess this year it’s my turn on a lingerie shot, right?’_  
Followed by this text was another message. This time Tommy didn’t send a text, though. He sent a photo. A photo of him in nothing but his black boxer briefs and a paper crown on his head, laughing like a little kid.

After examining the photo a little too closely for a little too long, she quickly sent a text back.  
 _’Backstory to that, pls. And don’t tell me some nameless chick took that pic of you. I’ll rip her head off.’_

_‘Possessive, aren’t we?’_ Tommy quickly sent back, earning a small laugh from Thea.

_’Yeah. You like it. Now spill.’_

It took a few minutes until she received a response from Tommy, but as soon as her phone chirped up, she had grabbed and unlocked it, eager to read what he had to say.  
 _’Ollie and I had a Paintball Match that day. On Jet Skis. Ollie lost. Big time. Then there were drinks. And when I snapped a pic of him, covered in blobs of paint, he apparently did the same when I was about to get ready for bed. I was about to never show it to anyone, but since you’ve been so naughty to me last christmas, I thought it was only fair to return the favor this year.’_

_’I’m going to print this and hang it on the inside of my bathroom door.’_ Thea replied with a small smirk on her face.

_’So I can watch and laugh at you every time you poop? :D'_ Tommy replied, making Thea laugh out loud.

“What’s going on?” Felicity suddenly called from the other room as soon as she heard her best friend giggling and laughing.

“Oh, nothing. Just had a funny thought about you-know-who.” Thea quickly lied. Even if Felicity was her best friend, she was NOT going to share with her the current conversation she was having with Tommy. At least not now. Felicity would demand answers. And right now, Thea preferred to answer Tommy instead.

With a big grin on her lips, Thea typed a quick reply to Tommy.  
 _’No, but that way I can watch you watch me getting naked every night. Maybe I’ll put on a show every now and then. Too bad you won’t be able to see it in person but I promise your poster-you will have plenty of fun. ;)‘_

She sent it off before she could change her mind and delete the text instead. It had been a while since she last sent some teasing words to Tommy and it sure was fun, but still she didn’t know if Tommy would laugh about it, or if he took it as serious as she did. So far he hadn’t made any move towards her after the New Year’s Party, at least no move that could be clearly identified as one. But then again, he was with Oliver every time he saw Thea, and since Thea knew Tommy was afraid what Oliver would think of him if he knew about this thing between them, she already guessed he wouldn’t be too obvious and keep his flirtations a lot more subtle - if he was interested in flirting with her at all, that is. So far, it always seemed that way, but Thea still had no idea if he was just trying to be nice, or maybe even had pity with her because she had a teenage crush on her brother’s best friend, OR if he really cared. Either way, it sometimes messed with Thea’s head and she couldn’t wait to have him back in Starling City again.

 

A few minutes passed and Thea wasn’t sure if she had gone too far with her text. When she was about to put the phone away and snuggle into her sheets again, ready to fall asleep, it chirped up again, though.  
 _’Sweety... don’t write things like that. It’s 4am around here and I’m lying half drunk, half horny in my cabin. Your text doesn’t really make it better, you know.’_  
With a little giggle, she imagined him lying in his bed on the Merlyn Yacht, alone, of course, his naked body barely covered by a thin bed sheet, ... yeah, she really shouldn’t let her thoughts go there.

Time for the grand exit, she thought to herself. If Tommy wanted to play, she sure as hell would play with him. Without giving it a second thought, she pulled off her sleep shirt, plopped back into the pillows, covered her breasts with one arm and took a picture of herself, winking into the camera with a big grin on her lips. With the low light coming from the light on her nightstand, her body glowed in an almost bronze tone in the picture, her bright green eyes staring straight into the camera.  
After adding a short _‘Sweet dreams, Tommy. xo’_ Thea sent the message before she could talk herself out of it.

She didn’t receive a response from him after that, but it wasn’t that she expected one, anyway. This round she had won, and she couldn’t wait for the next one to play with Tommy Merlyn. After another quick look at the framed picture on her nightstand, Thea dimmed the light and went to sleep, a big smile plastered on her face.

 

Felicity was just as active as Thea was in the room next door, even though none of the girls had an idea what the other one was doing. Felicity kept staring at the picture Oliver and Tommy had gotten her and couldn’t stop swiping her thumbs over Oliver’s smiling face. They have come to great terms over the past weeks, making Felicity feel better than she had ever felt since the men left for their trip. There was still the ache in her heart and the fact that she missed having Oliver near her, but knowing he was thinking about her, and being able to at least talk to him every few days really helped her. Her grades had improved a lot again, now almost better than they were before, much to her own relief. Looking back at the past few months she could only shake her head at being so irresponsible when it came to her grades and scholastic education. She had never been that way. Not even with the Waller family moving around like a traveling circus, always forcing her to adjust with new education forms and new Schools. Felicity had always managed, never accepted to fail school. The only thing she ever wanted was getting as far aways from her adoptive family as she could, get a good education, finish College, find a good job and then start her own life, on her own terms. But realizing now that she was willing to let her grades worsen sharply, even being willing to skip possible scholarships, only because she couldn’t handle her feelings for Oliver, she knew this would have been the worst decision she could have ever made. And Oliver wouldn’t have wanted that for her, either. She knew that. But the fact that she missed him so much made her willing to throw all plans overboard.  
Looking back now, she was happy she didn’t and that things worked out the way they did.

When she was about to put the picture back on her nightstand and get a good amount of sleep, something caught her eye. Upon inspecting the framed pic a little closer, she spotted another photo hidden behind the first one. Quickly flipping the frame around, she loosened the back piece and pulled it off, only to reveal another photo, neatly hidden behind the first one. She instantly spotted Oliver’s neat handwriting, saying

_Thinking of u. -O_

When she flipped the pic out of the frame and turned it, her face lit up in a warm, bright smile. She held a photo of Oliver, sleepily snuggling into the sheets, a sweet smile on his face. The photo didn’t even show a lot of skin, but Oliver’s eyes and smile made her shiver. To that moment she admired the few screenshots she had taken whenever they facetimed, but that photo would be holding a new, special place of her heart. After ghosting her fingertips over it a few times, she leaned over and hid it in her favourite book, making sure no one wouldn’t see it.

For a moment she felt bad that she wasn’t able to get him anything for Christmas, but knowing he was sailing Europe somewhere at the moment, there wouldn’t have been any chance to get something to him.  
Grabbing her phone from the nightstand, she quickly wished him a Merry Christmas and went to bed, knowing he probably wouldn’t reply before the morning.

 

 

New Year’s Eve went pretty uneventful for Thea and Felicity, at least a lot less eventful than the year before. Since Moira and Robert didn’t have any Meetings or Committees to attend, the family decided to stay at home and keep it casual with a nice Dinner, maybe a movie together and then watching the fireworks go up over Starling City. Thea told Felicity a few times she missed partying with her, and Felicity couldn’t deny that she felt the same. She wasn’t as much of a party - goer as Thea was, but having a little fun every now and then wasn’t too bad, she had to admit. And with most Club owners knowing Thea Queen, they usually didn’t have any problem getting into a Club either. It just wasn’t the same without Tommy and Oliver around and Felicity had to admit she didn’t feel as safe and protected without the men, earning an eye-roll from her best friend. The few times they actually went out, it usually ended up going to some Bars for a Drink or two instead of hitting the Club scene.

 

 

With Valentine’s Day around the corner, the cause completely lost its appeal to Thea. She thought about sending herself some flowers again, but since Tommy wasn’t around the thought kind of lost its point. Felicity pretty much felt the same, and the girls both agreed to just treat it like a day like any other, enjoying their Sunday, maybe taking the horses for a ride through the snow. It hadn’t snowed during February in many, many years in Starling City, and the girls got excited thinking about a winter ride.  
It also gave them the chance to reminisce about the last year together, with everything that had happened in these last 12 months. It wasn’t by any means that either girls’ lives had been uneventful or boring before Felicity came to the Mansion, but the turns their lives had taken since Felicity officially went into foster care with the Queens really had left a huge impact on both girls. And with the tight schedules, lately the girls rarely got the chance to sneak out of the Mansion for a while and enjoy their friendship like they could just a year ago, when life wasn’t that hectic yet.

Felicity sometimes felt herself wondering how she got along so well with Thea. She never had many friends in her life, thanks to her adoptive parents moving around like nomads every few months. And the few friends she was able to make were usually men. Like Barry. But with Thea, everything was completely different. To that day, the girls hadn’t even fought over anything. A few misunderstandings or even different point of views that they loudly discussed every now and then. But a real fight? No. Felicity couldn’t even imagine fighting over anything with Thea. Well, except for the TV remote. Because ‘Jersey Shore’ so much isn’t what Felicity wants to watch when they’re having a girls night in their rooms.  
But other than that, Felicity realized what an amazing friend she had gained in Thea Queen. The entire Queen family, actually. She was so thankful for the open arms that had welcomed her, for taking a stranger into their family so willingly. Making a mental note to say !!‘Thank you’!! in some way, Felicity zoned back into the conversation with Thea, enjoying the Winter day out with her best friend and the horses.

 

Around March, School took an interesting turn for Felicity. For some reason Thea couldn’t fully understand, Felicity started watching Football games of the Starling Archers more regularly and even dragged her to a few games.

When their PE teacher took her aside a few days earlier and asked what Felicity did to get in such a good shape in the last months, Felicity told her about the Yoga and boxing classes she took, along with the time she spent riding and sometimes even running (to see why Oliver fussed about it so much). After hearing all that, the teacher told her about the School Cheerleading Team looking for some new members after two girls injured and had to leave the team. Felicity was very reluctant at first, but when the PE teacher told her that attending other extracurricular activities would redound to her benefit on her Scholarship applications, she suddenly was all ears. It wasn’t really that she needed more activities noted on there, but the more the merrier, right?  
After promising she would at least consider the offer and check out the Team, the teacher gave her a warm smile and told her to just get in touch with her whenever she made a decision.

 

That was why Thea and Felicity found themselves in the Stadium a for the first time few days later. Felicity didn’t know how Thea would reply if she’d told her, and deep down, Felicity didn’t even fully knew if she’d consider that offer at all, so she decided to not tell Thea anything at first and dragged her to the stadium under the guise of watching a few hot men get at each other.

That worked fine until a few days later.  
“Okay, spill it, Fee. What’s going on here? Why the sudden interest in Football? You and Sam a thing again?” Thea grinned and waggled her eyebrows, earning a smack on the arm from her best friend.

“Sam and I are NOT a thing any more. We never were, by the way. And I’m pretty sure he’s off to that Boston College since a few weeks now, so…” she shrugged and turned her attention to the field again.

Thea eyed her for a moment, trying to make out any facial expression that would give Felicity away. She found none. “Yeah well if Sam isn’t the reason we’re freezing our asses off here, what is?”  
Felicity heaved a breath and pointed to the Cheerleading Team doing their thing at the sideline of the field. Thea followed her pointed finger and raised an eyebrow as soon as she saw where it went.  
“What, you’re into women now?” she snorted, earning another smack on the arm.

“Oh shut up,” Felicity laughed. “Coach Baker asked me if I was interested in joining the Cheerleading Team since they’re short a few members... and apparently she liked my physical form and deemed me fit enough to join them. I told her I’d check out the Team, think about it and let her know.” she shrugged while warming her fingers on the coffee mug in her hands.

Thea studied the girls in the short skirts for a moment before she looked back at Felicity and half nodded, half shrugged.  
“Join them. I always wanted a BFF that’s a Cheerleader.” she laughed, earning an incredulous look from Felicity before she joined her with a chuckle as well.

 

The next day, Felicity went to coach Baker to let her know she’d give it a try and see if it was something for her. Coach Baker smiled and nodded and called for Clarissa, the Captain of the Cheerleading Team. When Clarissa arrived, Felicity sat tensely in her chair, suddenly nervous about what the Captain of the Cheerleaders would think of her. When Clarissa entered the office, she studied Felicity with a quick look before she turned her attention to coach Baker.  
After being explained who Felicity was and what Clarissa had to do to properly introduce her to the Team, the coach sent the girls out of his office, giving Felicity the chance to get to know the other Team members.

 

Her first two weeks of coaching went by smoothly. A lot better than Felicity had expected, at that. Clarissa turned out to be patient and funny, and way nicer than the whispers and rumours about her in the School hallways said. Not that Felicity believed them, anyway. But hearing how bitchy and snotty Clarissa apparently was made Felicity a bit wary at first. That turned out to be completely unnecessary. Clarissa helped her getting to know the Team, was introduced to their weekly routines, even asked to join the girls during Lunch at School or whenever they went to the Diner for some Drinks after training. And despite missing Thea by her side, Felicity enjoyed being with her Teammates very much.

 

It was only 10 days later that everything suddenly changed.

Felicity entered School in the usual good mood she was in, even after being unable to talk to Oliver for more than 1 week now since the men were sailing back to US ground and had no chance to get any phone service during that time. Sure, she missed Oliver, but nothing could destroy the good mood she was in.  
Even Thea had accompanied her to a few training sessions with the Cheerleaders, but always preferred to watch from a secure distance rather than getting engaged with them. The tight training schedule paid a toll on her free time, though, and Felicity realized that with yet another sporty activity, she had to cut short the boxing lessons and even Yoga once a week. Since coach Baker assured her that she’d get plenty of workout with the Cheerleaders, she didn’t have many regrets, though.

But that one day, when she entered the restroom shortly before PE class, she heard a few women enter the restroom just a few minutes after her. One of the voices she clearly identified as Clarissa’s, and she was about to leave her occupied stall and head out when she heard the topic the women were talking about. They were talking about her. That made her ears get bigger than they ever were and held her frozen and unmoving in the stall, trying to make out what the women talked about.

Red hot rage welled up in her when she heard Clarissa snicker and call Felicity her ‘Project Ugly Duckling’, making the other girls laugh and giggle. Felicity didn’t hear much after that, only a few more words like ‘failing project’ and ‘ugly duckling indeed’ before the girls were out of the bathroom again, leaving Felicity alone with her rage. Tears slipped down her face, tears she wouldn’t allow herself to fall later, where everyone could see her. She only gave herself one minute of weakness, one minute to hate herself for being so stupid to believe Clarissa could actually mean good, ignoring the warning words from her classmates.  
But after one minute, she took a deep breath, wiped away her tears and left the bathroom with her head held high.

 

The PE class turned out to be a short one for two students.

For Felicity, after she stormed into the gym room and approached Clarissa with a determined step before she punched her well manicured fingers, balled into a fist, straight into Clarissa’s face, effectively ending her short membership with the Cheerleading Team with that.  
And of course for Clarissa, after she had to visit the School Doctor and get her bleeding nose and lip fixed.

 

Felicity had never been the aggressive type. Actually, she had never punched anyone before, at least not with that purpose. But right at that moment, all the pent up rage of people hurting her and making fun of her over the last years balled together and just broke out of her. She didn’t mind that it happened with Clarissa. Not one bit. She just hoped Moira and Robert wouldn’t be too mad with her and that it didn’t affect her Scholarship applications in any form.

But after explaining everything to Coach Baker, who wasn’t happy at all but understood, she was promised not having to face legal actions from the School, as long as she gave up taking boxing lessons. Felicity could just partly relate to that, but would have agreed to pretty much anything if it meant no punishment from her School. Having to deal with legal actions from Clarissa, on the other hand, was a different story.

 

Felicity didn’t speak a word after she left the coach’s office later that day. Not to Moira, who, much to Felicity’s embarrassment, had to come to School and pick her up; not to the principal, not even to a very concerned looking Thea. The Queen head remained polite and friendly with her, but Felicity could see the disappointment in her eyes. When Coach Baker explained the situation, Thea’s head snapped around to Felicity, her eyes telling her best friend ‘I would have hit her if you hadn’t.’

 

In the end, Felicity only got suspended for the rest of the school day, and after a hefty lecture by Moira and Robert at home, she buried herself under the sheets in her room and just cried. The day had started out so well and then shit just hit the fan within two hours. She thought about trying to call Oliver, hoping he would have some comforting words for her. But since he still hadn’t replied to the last text message she had sent him a few days ago, she already knew her tries would be fruitless. So she waited until Thea would return back home from School. Of course would have questions. She barely heard half of the Story in the hallway since Felicity barely told the Coach half of what had happened. But Felicity couldn’t bring herself to more than telling the coach “She had been treating me bad and I just found out.”

 

The moment the door to her room burst open and Thea jumped on her bed, Felicity slowly lifted the sheet and peeked her head up.  
“Okay, I want to know every freaking detail of what happened today, Fee. You’re the talk of School right now. Everyone wants to know what happened to Clarissa’s nose and who had the balls to punch her in the face like that.” Thea giggled and wildly gestured with her arms. Seeing her best friend like that made Felicity smile slightly, but the evidence of the morning she spent crying in bed was still clearly visible on her face.

So Felicity told her everything. About the way Clarissa behaved like the perfect friend and did everything to lure her into a sense of friendship. About the stuff she heard Clarissa say about her to her friends when she didn’t know Felicity was with them in the bathroom. About calling her ‘Project Ugly Duckling’ and that the project, according to Clarissa’s friends, had pretty much failed. About the anger welling up inside her until she couldn’t take it any longer.  
All the time Felicity spoke, Thea watched her friend, the expression on her face hardening with every word her best friend revealed. When Felicity had said everything, Thea wordlessly pulled her into a hug and let her know that cheap bitches like Clarissa would never be as awesome as Felicity and that she should never let them rain on her parade. The few words did a lot for Felicity, knowing her best friend wasn’t judging her in any way. It gave her hope to survive the next day at School because for the first time in a long time, Felicity dreaded going to School.

 

The next morning began smoothly, until Thea pulled up at the parking lot and Clarissa’s friends stormed over to the car, yelling obscenities at Felicity that almost made Thea punch them this time. Felicity could barely stop her from rushing forward and hooked her arm into Thea’s instead, keeping her head up while leaving the girls behind. As soon as they were out of sight, though, Felicity locked herself in the first restroom that she could find and cried again. This wasn’t at all how she wanted her school time to go, and what bugged her the most that it all was her fault, but at the same time not her fault at all. She hated being the center of attention so much, but then again, she couldn’t let Clarissa’s words slip without doing anything against it, either.  
When Thea pounded on the door, demanding to be led inside, Felicity reluctantly opened, after wiping away her tears and fixing her mascara.  
“You need a distraction today, Fee.” Thea spoked up when she saw Felicity’s sad face in the mirror. “And I’m going to give you just that. Just promise me you’ll finish school without any major interruptions and if anything comes up, just call me. You don’t need to ruin your reputation. For me, it doesn’t matter much.” Thea grinned, earning a sniff and a small laugh from Felicity. After fixing her hair one last time, Felicity took a deep breath and walked out of the restroom with Thea in tow. She would survive this day, she’d had worse in the past already.

At 2pm sharp, Thea was waiting for Felicity at the parking lot, casually leaning against her car.  
“So… what is this distraction you were talking about earlier?” she asked her with a sigh when she plopped into the car seat next to Thea. “I’ll sure need it.”

Thea sent her best friend an almost evil grin. Felicity knew that grin all too well. It meant trouble, and she wasn’t sure if she was ready for that kind of trouble after the last two days she had.  
“Let’s call it the Makeover 2.0” Thea announced, earning a very confused look from Felicity.

 

Thea took her time to explain her grand plan while she steered the car to the Starling City Mall. Felicity kept listening silently, and for a moment Thea feared she would refuse and back out, maybe request to be taken back to the Mansion instead. So hearing Felicity willingly agree to her plan surprised the youngest Queen. A lot. But it also planted a big grin on the brunette’s face, one that Felicity wasn’t so sure if she should like or fear.

 

In a little over 2 hours, they managed to buy Felicity several dresses, skirts and blouses and more than 10 pairs of High Heels and boots before Thea dragged her to her favorite hair salon, spending another 3 hours in there getting pampered and spoiled. Thea could see the change in Felicity the moment she heard what the stylist offered to do with her hair and was surprised and glad Felicity so quickly agreed to it. Maybe she didn’t realize how much she needed that makeover until now, Thea thought to herself with a smile on her lips while she sat and watched her best friend getting dolled up.

 

The girls arrived back home late in the evening, but since Moira had already announced it would be a late day in the office, the girls didn't care much. After eating out at the Mall after they left the hair salon they made another quick run to a Beauty Store where Felicity went on a legit shopping spree, stocking up on Nail Polishes and Lipsticks.

When they entered the Mansion, carrying the heavy bags inside, it took Moira a double look before she recognized the blonde girl with straightened hair, dressed in a blouse, skirt and high heels as her daughter’s best friend and their foster kid, Felicity.

 

The moment she felt Moira’s scrutinizing look on her, taking in the new look, Felicity began to feel a little uncertain if it really was such a good idea to do the full makeover instead of just buying a few new clothes. But when the face of the Queen head lit up into a big smile, it felt like a heavy load had been taken off Felicity’s shoulders.  
“You look fantastic, dear.” Moira complimented her, even had to take a double look at her hair. After having to promise she wouldn’t wear High Heels all day to School now though, the girls made their way upstairs and busied themselves with cleaning out Felicity’s closet.

 

 

“Dan asked me out.” Felicity announced when she plopped down onto the School Cafeteria bench next to Thea.

“What, you mean Dan from your Chem class who has been ogling you for a whole week now?” Thea asked her over a mouthful of scrambled eggs.

Felicity lightly swatted her arm. “He hasn’t been ogling me. And yes, that Dan.”

“So what are you going to do?” Thea asked before she stuffed the last fork full of scrambled eggs into her mouth.

Felicity shrugged. “Well what do you think I’ll do? I declined, of course.”

“You really want to do that?” Thea asked her and pushed her tablet away. “He looks like a decent guy. And he seems really interested in you.” she offered.

Felicity sent her an incredulous look.  
“I’m sorry, but am I hearing you correctly right now?” she replied, sounding a little snappier than she intended to. “You do remember there already is someone in my life, right? A certain someone who will come back in a little less than 8 weeks.” she added, speaking low enough that no one around them could hear her.

“Yeah but it’s not that he and you are already a couple and I mean, do you know for sure he has grown a pair and makes a move at you as soon as they’re back?”

Where Thea’s sudden argumentation came from, Felicity had no idea. And she certainly didn’t like hearing that. But still she had to admit, Thea had a point. Oliver and her hadn’t talked about the ‘situation’ between them yet and so far they were nothing more than friends that shared a very deep bond. She had no idea how Oliver felt towards her until they had the chance to actually talk. But going out with another man now somehow seemed just... wrong to her. Even though Dan really was a nice guy.

After a moment of silence between the girls, Felicity spoke up again.  
“Yeah well, I already told him ‘No’ 30 minutes ago, so it’s not that I can simply go back to him and tell him I changed my mind. He’ll think I’m a weirdo. So we can stop talking about that now.”

“You started it.” Thea shrugged when the bell pulled them out of their conversation. With a quick hug they parted ways after agreeing to meet in the parking lot later.

 

It was just before Felicity’s last class of the day, that Dan suddenly tapped on her shoulder, making her jerk around in surprise. They didn’t have any more classes together that day, so she was a bit confused to see him standing at her locker. When she gave him an expectant look, Dan nervously shifted on his feet, his hands in the pockets of his jeans, the Baseball cap reversed on his head.  
“Listen, Felicity... I’m sorry if I sounded like a jerk earlier who only tried to make a move on you. Truth is, I really like you and I’d like to show you that I’m not a jerk or an asshole, if you gave me the chance. Go out with me, at least just once.”

Boy was persistent, she had to give him that. And she was about to politely decline his offer - again, when she saw the hopeful look in his eyes. Just at that moment, Thea’s words came back to her mind, reminding her that Oliver and her weren’t in any form of committed relationship and she had no idea where they stood until he returned home and they’d have the chance to talk. This wasn’t something to discuss over the phone, with a few thousand miles between them and no chance to see the other person’s expression.  
And since the whole debacle with Clarissa and the Cheerleading Team, Felicity had busied herself with more and more gym classes. So much, that even Thea had complained she was only seeing her during Lunch at School lately at some point, and the girls lived door to door. So maybe spending an afternoon out with someone else wasn’t such a bad idea after all. And if he turned out to be an idiot, she could just go home and move on from it. Easy as that.

Considering his words for a moment, she looked him in the eyes and nodded.  
“Alright. One date.”

The smile that broke out on Dan’s face at her words was one that made even Felicity smile.  
“Yes!” he fist-pumped, more to himself, making Felicity chuckle slightly. “I promise you won’t be disappointed. Are you free this afternoon? I could pick you up any time you -”

“Actually,” Felicity interrupted his, rather cute, rambling, “I have Yoga class today, but what about meeting me afterwards? I should be back home by 6pm.” she offered.

Dan nodded eagerly. “Of course. Give me your phone.” he told her with an open palm and a smile on her face. She had no idea what he was up to and normally never handed her phone to anyone else, not even to Thea. But Dan’s whole posture told her he wouldn’t be doing any illegal stuff with it, or maybe take it and run. So she pulled it out of her coat pocket and handed it to him.  
With quick fingers, he unlocked the screen and punched in his number before he gave it back to her.  
“Now you have my number and can call me anytime you’re ready to be picked up.” he smiled at her.

A nervous silence surrounded them after that and for the first time, Felicity was glad to be saved by the school bell. Dan gave her another nervous smile and jogged down the hallway to his classroom while she watched him leave.

She was going out with Dan tonight. Her first real date in... god, did she ever have a real first date? Sam didn’t count, of course. Unless Dan was taking her to Shake Shack as well, the date with him would be different than the ones she had with Sam. What should she wear? Should she tell Oliver? She definitely needed to tell Thea. An appropriate preparation was in order and in no way she could do that without Thea’s help. She’d freak out if she had to do that alone. And a little part of her told her Thea had something to do with Dan’s second approach. She’d need to ask her about that later.  
So lost in thought, she didn’t even realize that the hallway was almost empty now and she would be late for class. Quickly kicking her locker shut, she jogged to her classroom and barely made it in time before their math teacher arrived. Oh my god, she was going on a date tonight.

 

Thea’s not-so-innocent grin was explanation enough to Felicity when she arrived at the parking lot and told her best friend that Dan had approached her again and that she had agreed to go out with him.  
“You hadn’t anything to do with that, of course?” Felicity cocked an eyebrow at her best friend who tried to keep the amused grin out of her face.

“Of course.” Thea half laughed, half snorted.

 

Felicity tried to not give the date with Dan not too much of a thought when she went to her Yoga class later that day. It wasn’t that she was overly attracted to him and he was the one who has asked her out, not the other way round. But still she couldn’t shake the slight nervousness that slowly built up in her the closer she got to meeting him. An hour after School she had texted him the address of the Mansion, too chicken to call and speak to him directly, earning an eye-roll from her best friend. Just before Yoga Thea had helped her picking out some clothes she could wear for the Date. Thea had insisted on one of the dresses they had bought a few weeks before, but Felicity vehemently veto-ed that. In the end, she settled on a pair of Skinny Jeans, knee-high boots and a black blouse coupled with a bright pink scarf. She looked modest, but not too closed off. And since the clothing question had been solved rather quick, she found herself sitting in her room, unable to kill time other than with getting ready for Yoga a little earlier than she normally did. Maybe some Yoga would help her clear her mind a bit.

 

It did not. In fact, it made her just more nervous the more her muscles relaxed. And she had no idea why. Sure, Dan was a nice guy, funny and even smart, and he didn’t look too bad, more on the jock-side with his casual but sporty clothing and cheerful attitude. In fact, she had never seen him without a Baseball Cap yet and wondered if he’d show up with one later. She wouldn’t mind, but it intrigued her anyway.

So just a few minutes before the clock turned 7pm, Raisa knocked on the door to her room and stepped inside, a bright smile on her face.  
“Miss Felicity, there is a lovely young man waiting for you downstairs.”

Thea excitedly clapped her hands and jumped off the bed, dashing to the window, trying to make out anything at the front door. She could see a black car parked in the driveway but it was too dark to spot anything else.  
“He’s waiting for you in the Foyer.” Raisa smiled and Felicity nodded, gulping down the lump in her throat before she gut up from bed, following the maid downstairs, accompanied by an a-little-overly-excited Thea. Dan stood near the door, dressed in Jeans and a light blue button down, a white T-Shirt underneath. He looked casual, yet sexy, but what really surprised her was his dark blonde hair, perfectly styled to showcase his square-jawed, handsome face. He looked so much better without a cap.  
While he checked out the huge foyer, Felicity studied him for a moment before taking the last steps towards him, making her presence known. He didn’t look to nervous, maybe a little tense at best, something she couldn’t blame him for at all; the first day that she had spent at the Queen Mansion 3 years ago had been a little overwhelming for her as well. He held a small flower bouquet in his hand while the other rested in his jeans pocket.

“Hey,” she told him with a slightly nervous timbre, making him jerk around and look up at the stairs in surprise.

“Hey,” he smiled at her when she closed the distance, thankful for Raisa and Thea leaving the scene, or at least getting out of sight. “You look great.”

“Thanks,” she nervously replied and swiped a hand over the blonde locks falling over her shoulders, something she still wasn’t too accustomed to.

Dan handed her the bouquet. “These are for you, I didn’t know your favourite flower, so I went the safe route and got red roses. The clerk told me that they always work.”

With a small laugh on her lips, she accepted the offered bouquet. “Thank you. and yes, red roses pretty much always work. As long as the recipient isn’t allergic, of course.”

“Wait, are you allergic?” Dan replied, clearly shocked and worried, and was about to pull the flowers out of her hands again, when Felicity stopped him with a laugh.

“It’s fine, it’s fine. I’m not allergic.” she chuckled and took a step back. “The flowers are beautiful, I’ll quickly go and get a vase for them and then we can head out.” she smiled and with quick steps, left the room and headed for the kitchen. As soon as she closed the door behind her, she let out a breath she kept holding since she saw him standing in the foyer, as handsome as he was.

“You totally like him!” Thea suddenly called out loud, earning a light smack on the arm from Raisa. “Ow!... What? it’s true, just look at her face!” Thea defended herself, earning a chuckle from Raisa and an eyeroll from her best friend.

“He’s nice. And I’m just nervous. If you would have had a Date yet, you would know that feeling.” Felicity almost smirked when she grabbed for a vase and filled it with water.

“I’ll take them to your room. Enjoy your evening.” Raisa spoke up and almost ushered Felicity out of the kitchen and back to a patiently waiting Dan in the foyer.

 

Thea was in for a boring night when suddenly her phone chirped up. At first she was a little surprised to see her brother’s face on the screen, but realizing it had been almost two weeks since she heard from any of them, she quickly accepted the call.  
“Ollie! Hey, where are you guys now? It’s been a while since we last heard from you. Mom started to worry.”

“We’re sailing towards Puerto Rico right now. Tell Mom we’re fine. It was just impossible to get a clear signal out on the ocean. But we saw some whales out there, pretty awesome stuff. I’ll show you the pics as soon as we’re back home.” Oliver quickly replied, and the fact that Thea was able to hear her brother’s voice again gave her a sense of peace she had missed for a while now. “I don’t have much time to talk though... uhm, where’s Felicity? I tried to call her and she won’t pick up.”

“Oh, she’s on a Date.” Thea replied so casually and quickly, she wasn’t able to stop herself.  
The other end of the line went dead silent.  
“Ollie? Are you still there?”

“Yeah, yeah I am... did you say she’s on a Date? With whom?” he asked after taking a deep breath, a sudden flash of surprise and anger rushing through him at that statement. He and Felicity hadn’t talked for a little over two weeks now, and she hadn’t said a peep about someone asking her out, or even showing interest in her, so he could only assume that this was a recent development. One he didn’t like, not one bit.

Since Oliver sounded pretty casual and unfazed to Thea, she didn’t see any point in lying or withholding any information from him. He asked for it, after all. And if it helped him getting his shit together with Felicity, knowing there was someone else on the market now, too, then she was glad to help her best friend.  
“With Dan. Nice guy. At least I wouldn’t have let her leave with him if he’d been an asshole.” she chuckled, more to herself than to Oliver, but he was still too far away to follow the conversation.

“Doesn’t she have her phone with her?”

“Of course she does, Ollie.” Thea replied, sounding a little irritated. “But would you answer your phone while you’re out with a girl somewhere? Of course not! Maybe she just muted it.” she shrugged, “I’ll let her know you called, though. No worries.”

Oliver was about to ask his sister more about the guy Felicity was out with, but the way Thea had ended the last sentence made it very clear to him that she wasn’t going to answer any more Felicity-related stuff. So he swallowed the lump of anger and confusion, made a mental note to talk to Felicity about this as soon as he could, and casually talked to his sister about their trip and the fact that they would be back home, soon.

 

Dan turned out to surprise the shit out of Felicity by taking her to the Startling City Zoo for a Night Safari. She had never done that before, actually she didn’t even knew the Zoo offered it. And it had been many, many years since she last went to the Zoo, so she was very excited when Dan told her what they would be doing. Part of her was also glad that he didn’t take her to a Restaurant or some other place where uncomfortable silence would have to be avoided. At the Zoo, especially with a lot of stuff to see, there wouldn’t be time for awkward silence.

 

It had been almost 11pm when Dan returned her home to the Mansion and, much to her surprise, only went for a hug. She would have expected him to try and kiss her, which she would have politely declined, but surprisingly, he only wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his strong chest.  
“Thank you, Felicity. I had an incredible evening. I haven’t laughed so much in a long time.” he mumbled into her hair, earning a laugh from her when she pulled back.

“Yeah, blame it on the monkey throwing the food at me. I’m pretty sure I didn’t gain a friend in him.”

“Just for the record, I would never throw any food at you.” Dan grinned at her, making her chuckle even harder.

“Oh that’s relieving to hear.” she laughed.

“But I would love to take you to Dinner nonetheless.” he suddenly replied, all the amusement gone from his face, replaced with a slightly hopeful smile.

Felicity had to think about that for a moment. She had promised him one Date, and before he picked her up she was confident he wouldn’t bother her any longer after that one Date. But now she had to admit that she really enjoyed the evening with him. And since it was still weeks until Oliver would be back, why not spend some of that time in the company of a friend, even though she knew Dan probably thought differently of her.  
In the end, she agreed, witnessing another happy fist pump that he gave himself. Dan hugged her again, wished her a good night and then left.

When she came upstairs, Thea already sat on her bed, demanding answers. Felicity wasn’t really in the mood for sharing, but knew she couldn’t avoid her best friend’s interrogation for ever, either.  
“Oh, and Ollie called. Had been asking for you.” Thea threw in so casually, making Felicity stop dead in her tracks. Within seconds she had her phone fished out of her pocket, cursing herself for having it muted while she was out with Dan. Seeing she had 3 missed calls from Oliver and even a text from him, saying he was sad he couldn’t reach her, made her frown. It had been too long since she last spoke to Oliver and now she had missed him because she was out with another man.

“What did he say?” Felicity asked, not even trying to hide the nervousness in her voice.

“He seemed a little... tense, after I told him you were out on a Date.” Thea replied, a small smirk tugging on the corner of her lip.

“Wait, what? You told him?” Felicity shot back, utterly shocked and clearly surprised that Thea hadn’t kept her mouth shut for one moment.

“Relax, Fee.” her best friend replied and pulled her to the mattress to sit down. “If anything, it’ll help him to finally make up his mind. And let’s face it, do you know if he hasn’t   
been dating the last 10 months?”

That statement brought a frown to Felicity’s face. Thea was right, she had no idea if Oliver had been dating in the last months, and she had always been too chicken to ask him about it when they talked. So she could only make assumptions, and based from what she knew about him, she basically !!had!! to think he had been dating or sleeping around. And the thought pained her.  
“Alright, enough about my precious brother. How was the date with Dan? What did you guys do? And why are there stains on your Shirt?” Thea asked and pointed to some very distinctive dark spots on Felicity’s blouse, making her eyes snap down.

“Oh, that’s Blueberries. Some monkey threw them at me.” Felicity casually replied with a wave and pulled off the shirt before throwing it in the hamper.

“Is ‘monkey’ an euphemism for something nasty? Because it is, I do NOT want to know…” Thea laughed and watched Felicity kick off her boots and jeans.

“No it’s not,” she rolled her eyes, “we went to the Zoo. Did you know they made Night Safaris there? Super awesome. You get nightscopes and can wander around, checking out the nocturnal animals there.”

“And a monkey threw blueberries at you.” Thea stated matter of factly, but still looking very confused.

“Yes. Everyone laughed, I’m pretty sure even the monkey laughed, so please let’s get over it. I don’t want to talk about it any more.” she added and made her way over to the bathroom, leaving Thea behind, who quickly followed suit.

Thea made her talk some more under the shower, even made her reveal that Dan asked her for another Date. One that she already accepted. Part of her was glad that Thea kept bugging her with questions because otherwise she’d probably freak out over the fact that Oliver knew she went on a Date. But the other part of her only wanted to talk to Oliver, hear his voice, and maybe even explain that Dan was just a nice guy, nothing more. For some weird reason she felt the need to tell him not to worry about anything. And with that thought, Thea’s earlier words came to her mind, reminding her that she had no idea what Oliver had been doing all these months.

 

She ended up sending Oliver a quick message, apologizing for not being able to talk to him earlier, promising to pick up the phone the next time he tried.  
Sleep came slowly that night for Felicity, her thoughts switching from Oliver to Dan, something that confused her very much.

 

When Dan picked her up for Dinner two days later, Felicity reluctantly agreed to let Thea pick her a nice dress. She hadn’t had the chance to wear any of the nicer dresses the girls bought yet, so Felicity’s argumentation about it not being a formal Dinner Event went fruitless with Thea. She insisted on picking one of the dresses for her friend and Felicity realized she didn’t have a say in this.

She wore a black A-Line dress with a flowy skirt that ended just above her knees, making Dan’s jaw drop the moment he saw her coming down the stairs. This wasn’t her normal school attire at all and the moment she saw him standing there, checking her out over and over again, Felicity started to feel a little uncomfortable. Moira greeted Dan politely and applauded Felicity for her great look before Dan grabbed her hand and let her out to his parked car. That’s when her nervousness really kicked in.  
She was going on an - official - Dinner Date with Dan... holy crap!

 

Despite her crazy nervousness, the evening turned out to be an absolutely lovely one. Dan took her to a great Greek Restaurant, talked and laughed with her all evening and had been nothing but a gentleman. Part of it really scared her, because the more time she spent with Dan, the more she realized she could really start liking him. More than just friend-ly liking. And these thoughts confused the hell out of her, because Oliver was still very present on her mind almost all the time.  
But a text from Thea 10 minutes after they left the Mansion, telling her not to think too much about Oliver and enjoy the evening with Dan instead, made her do just that.

 

One Dinner Date quickly turned into at least two a week, and Dan made sure never to do anything twice. One time they went kart racing, making Felicity realize it was for good reason that she didn’t have her driver’s license yet. Another time he took her to a new Bakery outside of town where they both decorated a cake for his grandma’s 70th birthday.

 

Much to her surprise, Oliver hadn’t tried to call her again after Thea told him that he missed her because she was on a Date, and part of her sometimes wondered if Oliver was jealous, even though he didn’t have a real reason to. Dan and her weren’t in any form of relationship, and actually, neither were Oliver and her.  
He only sent her a text message a few days later, letting her know they would be arriving in Puerto Rico soon and he’d get back in touch with her as soon as he can then. No word about the Date, that she knew he knew about; no word about the man she went out with, nothing. And even though she was glad he didn’t question her about it, part of it irked her as well that Oliver seemed completely unfazed by the fact that she went out with some other guy. Did he really care so little about her?

 

Dan had been the true gentleman and never made a move towards her that could make Felicity feel uncomfortable. After almost two weeks of going out together, all he did was taking her hand and holding it for the rest of the evening they spent together, but he never went beyond that, and Felicity was very grateful for it. He didn’t pressure her, always gave her the room she needed, and after a while, Felicity realized she really started to like and enjoy his company.

When an important Chem exam came up, Felicity agreed to help him studying, and spent the first evening at his home, feeling a little nervous.  
It was late in the evening when he returned her home, and the moment Felicity was about to leave his car, he grabbed her chin and kissed her. And much to her surprise, she let him.

It was only a short peck on the lips, but it sure sent her senses into overdrive. She quickly left the car after that, agreeing to meet him before class the next day, before she went upstairs, trying to calm her racing mind.  
It didn’t help one bit that Thea demanded answers that Felicity wasn’t ready to give.

It took her a long time to fall asleep that night. Her thoughts drifted off to Dan and the fact that he had kissed her. What confused her the most was the fact that she didn’t pull back like the first time he tried it, that she actually let him kiss her. And on top of that, she hadn’t heard from Oliver in a few days either.  
With a sigh, she leaned her head back into the pillows. She needed to sort out her feelings, and that fast, before she pulled Dan deeper into her mess of feelings and before Oliver returned back home and would mess things up even further for her.

The next morning in school she had a hard time concentrating on her classes. Thea wasn’t able to distract her much, either and when Chem class was about to come up, Felicity was a nervous wreck. Since Dan had wanted to meet her in the hallway before the class began, she waited outside, anxiously shifting from one foot to the other. There were things she had to tell him, and she suddenly felt more nervous than all morning.

As soon as Dan spotted her, he jogged over, a huge grin plastered on his face. When he stopped right in front of her it looked as if he was about to lean in and kiss her. Taking a nervous step back from him, she cleared her throat and smiled shyly.  
“I, uhm…” she began and Dan’s smile instantly changed into a frown, “I think we should talk.”

At that statement, Dan’s face fell, the frustration clearly visible on his face.  
“I shouldn’t have kissed you. Right?”

“No, it’s not... it’s not that. I just... can we take things a little slower, maybe?” she nervously asked him, unsure if he was still on the same path as her. When she saw his confused look, she tried to explain. “It’s just that all this is still a little new to me, and I -”

“Oh hey,” he began and pulled her hand in his. “I didn’t want to rush or scare you. Of course we can take things your tempo.” he smiled at her and the nervous flutter in her body slowly went away. Feeling like a heavy load had been lifted off her chest, she nodded and smiled at him, an honest, small smile before Dan offered her his hand and led her to the classroom.

 

Despite Felicity’s doubts, Dan really let her set the tempo. He never tried to approach her too closely again except for holding her hand, something he apparently couldn’t seem to let go, something she actually didn’t mind at all. But other than that, he behaved like the perfect gentleman. He even insisted to carry her books, much to her reluctance. He took her on dates, one better than the other. He studied with her, or better, asked her for help.  
And the more time she spent with him, the more she started to enjoy his company.

When Moira asked him to stay for Dinner one night after they studied, Felicity choked on her drink for a moment. Dan happily agreed, not one bit intimidated by the Queen head, which impressed Felicity big time. When they were back in her room afterwards and studied, Felicity couldn’t stop but stare at him every time he looked away. For some reason she couldn’t fully figure out yet, she had started growing close with Dan, even allowed him into her closed off personal space. Even Thea had noticed a few days ago, but Oliver still was very present on her mind all the time, making things even more complicated for her than they were anyway.

The closer the date for Oliver’s and Tommy’s return came, the more nervous the girls got. Thankfully, Felicity had a little distraction in Dan, but that also meant that Thea would have one less distraction with Felicity being out of the Mansion almost every afternoon lately, leaving the youngest Queen alone to her thoughts. Thea didn’t say anything about it to her, but Felicity could sense it anyway. It made her feel like a bad friend and after explaining it quickly to Dan, she took two days off from him to spend them with her best friend instead.

 

“So when will they arrive back?” Felicity asked and plopped down on the mattress, pulling a shirt and bra off from under her butt. Thea’s room was a complete mess, strewn clothes everywhere, half packed bags sitting in every corner. “And what the hell are you doing here? Looks like Bride Wars had been filmed in this room.”

Thea kept rummaging through her clothes, more shirts and dresses flying into the room.  
“Decluttering.” Thea replied from the closet, not bothering to look out. “Has been long overdue.”

Felicity stared at her best friend in disbelief. She knew how much Thea cherished every single one of her dresses, and that she remembered every Gala or Event she had each dress worn for. It was so unlike her wanting to get rid of them now, especially with such nonchalance.  
“Is everything alright, Thea? You seem... different the last few days.” Felicity spoke up, her voice full of compassion while she got up from the bed and closed the distance to stand next to the closet.

Thea’s head snapped around at that. Her hair was a mess and she was slightly sweaty, but what surprised Felicity more was the anger radiating from her best friend’s eyes.  
“Really? How would you now that? You’ve practically been spending every free minute with your precious boyfriend. We are more neighbors than friends lately! You barely spend time with me any more, so how come you pretend to know I look differently?” Thea snapped at her so loudly, Felicity had to take a step back in surprise. She had never seen her best friend so angry before, especially not so angry with her. It was a sight Felicity hated to see, especially since it undoubtedly was aimed towards her.

“Thea, what’s going on?” Felicity began after taking a breath. “I know I haven’t been at home much the last weeks, but weren’t you the one who basically encouraged me to start dating Dan? Now you punish me for doing so?”  
She watched her best friend for a moment, letting the words sink in before she continued speaking. “What is really going on here? And don’t tell me it’s nothing, because the look on your face and the mess in your room? That sure doesn’t look like nothing to me.”

“Don’t you have somewhere better to be right now? Like, with Dan?” Thea snapped at her and plopped down on a pile of clothes on the ground with an exhausted sigh.

“I am exactly where I want to be right now, Thea.” Felicity smiled at her and took a seat on the floor opposite of her friend.

“Tommy doesn’t reply to me any more.” she mumbled so low, Felicity wasn’t sure she caught it right at first. But before she got the chance to ask, Thea continued speaking. “We were texting every now and then, just stupid stuff, you know? But he always got back to me. The last message I got from him was almost 3 weeks ago, and after that, I never heard from him again. He wouldn’t answer any of my texts, and I have no idea what’s going on.” Thea almost whimpered the last part and it broke Felicity’s heart to see her best friend in such pain. “What if he found a nice girl and doesn’t want anything to do with me any longer? Or what if he just realized he got bored with me and isn’t answering because of that? I already feel like an idiot for sending so many messages when he clearly isn’t interested in me any more.” Thea half sobbed and for the first time, Felicity could see such vulnerability in her best friend. Thea had always been the strong one, the fierce one, and she would have never expected such an outbreak from her.

It made Felicity feel even more sorry, because she obviously had neglected her friend so much that she didn’t saw the change of mood in her the last few days.

When Thea looked up and saw Felicity furiously texting on her phone, she sniffled her nose.  
“What are you doing?”

Felicity gave her an evil grin. “Oh, I’m just texting the spoiled brat to pull his head out of his ass and text you back. It’s not fine to keep a Lady waiting, no matter if it’s personally or via text. And he should know better than that.” Felicity replied, never looking up from her phone while her fingers flew over the screen.  
“And he better respond to either of us, because if he doesn’t I’ll unleash hell on him as soon as they’re back. Oh and I’ll text Oliver and let him know Tommy had been mean to you. Maybe your brother can punch some sense into him.” she added and looked up, a proud grin on her face, making even Thea chuckle slightly. “And now let’s clean up the mess that used to be your room and watch a silly chick flick until we fall asleep.” Felicity added with a smile and got up from the floor, holding a hand out for Thea.

“But - what’s with Dan?”

“I took two days off, so to speak... besides, you’re more important to me than any guy could ever be. So for the next two days... who’s Dan?” she grinned and with a small laugh, Thea got up from the ground. The girls made quick work in cleaning up the room before they both snuggled under Thea’s sheets and fell asleep halfway through the film.

 

Two days later, Felicity acted on her threats and texted Oliver after not hearing a peep from Tommy. Deep down she didn’t want to text him, knowing there was still a weird sense in the air ever since she missed his calls on her first date. He never said anything about it, so she certainly didn’t start with it either, but the tension between their text messages was almost palpable.

But since this was about her best friend, Felicity had to ignore her weird feelings and just send him a text, asking if everything was okay with Tommy.

Oliver’s reply came almost instantly, surprising both Thea and Felicity. He didn’t call her though, something he had always done when she texted him and he had a service and could call. One one hand it relieved her, but the bigger part of her hated the yet-again tension between them.

Oliver’s text was short, telling her Tommy was perfectly fine and that they were on their way to the Bahamas right now. When Oliver asked what Felicity wanted from Tommy though, both girls froze on the spot.

What should they reply?

Felicity very well couldn’t tell him she was asking for a friend, especially not for Thea, who desperately tried to reach him. So a little lie would have to do. It wasn’t that she liked lying to Oliver, but with Thea looking so devastated, Felicity knew she had to make an exception.  
 _’Nothing important. Just thought he could call his friend and get Thea and me on the guestlist for Verdant again. But he didn’t reply.’_

This time the girls had to wait a little longer for a reply.  
 _‘His phone took a dive and went dead a while ago. You want to go to Verdant? Alone?’_

Well, that made sense. At Oliver’s words, the whole load of frustration and tension that had been on Thea’s shoulders suddenly disappeared.

With a groan Felicity typed a quick response. Of course Oliver had to go all caveman at her again.  
 _‘No, Oliver, not alone. Thea and I would be together, of course. Anyway, thanks for letting me know.’_

_‘Please be careful. There are too many idiots out there.’_

Trust me, I know that.” Felicity mumbled to herself, throwing the phone back on her comforter.

“I take it things aren’t too great between my brother and you right now?” Thea piped in from the side, feeling a lot more relaxed now that she knew she wasn’t the reason why Tommy didn’t reply to her texts.

With a sigh and a shrug, Felicity leaned back onto the headboard.  
“Honestly? I have no idea. I know Oliver knows about the date - thanks to you - and since then he’s just acting strange. Didn’t call after that, he only sends texts, and even these becoming more and more rare lately. And if he texts, it’s usually only a quick ‘Hello’ and ‘we’re here or there right now’, nothing else. At least nothing like the texts he sent before.”

“Sounds to me like he’s jealous.” Thea shrugged, earning a huff and an annoyed laugh from her friend.

“Jealous about what, Thea? He doesn’t know anything about Dan; he doesn’t even know Dan and I are in a relationship. And what am I expected to do? Oliver was the one who told me he cared so much about me, but then went on a 12-months long trip through Europe, meeting god-knows who, doing god-knows what. I have felt miserable long enough as it is about that. And yes, that was my own decision, but it still doesn’t change the fact that Oliver was the one who had put us both in that place without asking me in advance. He made all the choices, and now I’m the one making my own again. And I certainly won’t sit here for a god damn year, waiting for him to return, not even knowing he has made up his mind and grew a pair - your words! And I certainly won’t do that when there’s someone as nice as Dan wanting to spend more time with me.” she told Thea with a straight face, leaving her best friend completely speechless.

“Damn, I see trouble arising as soon as Ollie returns and sees you in the arms of someone else.” she almost snickered, earning another shrug from Felicity.

“That’s his do deal with, not mine. He didn’t care either when I saw him making out with other women or when I walked in on him banging that girl in his room.”  
Ah yes, that she remembered all too well. Felicity’s hurt look after she walked in on him and that chick. That look wasn’t something Thea wanted to see on her best friend’s face ever again. 

“Yeah well, can’t say I disagree with you, Fee. It’ll just be interesting to see how things will turn out once he’s back and sees the full extension of that date I told him about.” she laughed with a half shrug.

“Shouldn’t you focus on dear Tommy Merlyn instead of my relationship status?” Felicity replied with a cocked eyebrow.

“You know what’s funny? Barely a year ago, you and I were the most girly girls ever. And now look at us. I’m mulling over relationship problems for a relationship that isn’t even one, while you are being almost trampled down by testosterone-laden cowboys, facing a stand-off in T-minus 2 weeks.” she chuckled, making even Felicity laugh out loud.  
“Yeah, we sure got ourselves into some trouble.”

 

10 days later, Moira announced over Dinner that Oliver and Tommy had arrived in Miami the day before and would be taking a flight back home in 3 days, after getting their stuff handled with the Yacht. Just the fact alone that Oliver and Tommy would be returning back home so soon, after being gone for 12 full months, made the girls both nervous and excited. 

 

When the men informed Moira about their flight details 2 days later, she made sure to have them picked up at the airport and taken to the Queen Mansion.  
“They should arrive here around 1pm and since I don’t think they will have eaten anything, I already spoke to Raisa and accelerated the Dinner time for tomorrow. Please make sure you have the afternoons off, I’m sure the boys will have plenty of Stories to share.” Moira announced with a smile.

“Can we skip school tomorrow, Mom? Please, please? I don’t want to miss their return.” Thea instantly begged. earning a firm ‘No’ from them Queen head.

“And don’t even think about skipping school on your own. I will call each of your teacher and ask about your presence if need be.” she warned, earning two very frustrated sighs from the girls sitting in front of her.

That gave the girls no other chance but to fight themselves through School and then make it home as quick as they could. Much to Felicity’s discontent, she even had classes until 4pm that day, making it impossible for her to go home with Thea and welcome the boys back home with her together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up:
> 
> Reuniting, Oliver's 23rd birthday, Felicity's 18th birthday and a shitload of fun and trouble for our two favourite couples! :)
> 
>  
> 
> The Chapter should be up within a week (I hope, unless my mare decides to pull a stunt...)


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally a new Chapter!
> 
> Hey guys, sorry it took me so long to get this Chapter ready, but a certain someone kept me busy for the last two weeks. My mare just had her very first fial 1 week ago and until then I've been a nervous wreck.
> 
> That's come to an end now, though. :D  
> This Chapter is rather short compared to the ones I've posted before, but I hope to have the next one ready within a week.
> 
> I hope everyone had an awesome Valentine's Day!  
> And last but not least, here's the little stinker that's demanding all my attention for a week now... meet **Al Sahim** , nickname 'Ollie' :)  
> 

School seemed to be a never ending struggle that day. Every time Felicity checked her watch, she could swear it was moving backwards instead of forth. At some point during Chem class she got so anxious that even Dan noticed it.  
“Everything alright?” he whispered over to her.

“Yeah, it’s just... my foster brother returns home from his 1 year long journey today and I’m kind of excited to see him again.” That definitely wasn’t a lie. But what surprised her was how easily she was able to reveal details about Oliver to Dan. To that point, all Dan knew was that Felicity had another foster-sibling besides Thea, but for some reason, she never wanted Dan to know anything about Oliver. It helped her keep both men separated in her head the less they knew about each other. So her revealing that detail to Dan, even though it was just a pretty irrelevant one, really surprised her.

“Well I’d be anxious then, too.” he smiled at her and squeezed her shoulder lightly. “Wanna skip the last classes? I could take you to your home.” he offered in a whisper, earning a shake of head from her.

“Can’t. My mother already warned Thea and me not to skip any classes. So I’m stuck here for another -” she looked down at her watch and groaned, “3 hours.”

 

Since Thea was about to leave earlier than her, Felicity had told her to just drive home as soon as her classes were over, promising her best friend she’d find a ride home herself. Thea was about to complain, even argue that she could come over and pick her up later, but when Felicity assured her she would be fine and’d just ask one of her classmates to drop her off at the Mansion, Thea nodded and agreed.

She didn’t want to drive home without her best friend at that special day, but she couldn’t wait to see her brother, and of course, her brother’s best friend, again.

 

The drive back home had never been such a long one for Thea. She didn’t want to ignore any speed limits, and with the heavy traffic it seemed she couldn’t, anyway. As soon as she turned into the driveway and saw Tommy’s black Maserati parked there, her mind went on overdrive. With lightning speed she parked the car, didn’t even bother picking up her school bag and ran inside.

Distinctive chatter could be heard from the living room and when Thea was about to storm inside, she stopped herself for a moment.  
She very well couldn’t run in there like a little kid, especially not with Tommy sitting there. Quickly checking out her clothing, taking a short sniff at herself, she tip-toed back to the foyer and ran upstairs into her room. 

After changing into a new blouse and applying some perfume, she quickly fixed her hair before she went back downstairs, this time with a plan on her mind.

The chatter became louder and louder the closer she got to the living room and the fact that she could hear Oliver’s and Tommy’s voices again so clearly, and not just through a phone, made her giddy with excitement. She entered the living room and stood in the doorframe for a moment, unseen by the men or her parents. Watching her mother smile so brightly was a pure joy to her, but seeing her brother and Tommy sitting on that couch again was something she couldn’t fully believe yet.

Much to her surprise, it was Tommy who looked up and spotted her standing in the doorway.  
“Thea!” he loudly announced with a big, broad smile on his face, making her heart flutter. All heads shot around at that and before she could realize what was happening, she was wrapped in an embrace by Tommy and her brother.  
“Damn, you’ve grown up, young Lady.” Tommy whistled appreciatively, earning a chuckle from her.

“Speedy,” Oliver began and wrapped her in another hug, “if I’m not careful you’ll outgrow me soon.” he joked, making Moira and Robert laugh out loud.  
“Where’s Felicity?” he asked her in confusion when he took a step back from his little sister and looked towards the doorway, but couldn’t spot his foster-sister anywhere.

“She still has classes until 4pm, but will join us later for Dinner.” Moira piped up from beside them, making Oliver frown slightly. It wasn’t that he didn’t like seeing his little sister again, or being back home in general, but the one person he was the most excited about seeing again was Felicity. Especially since things had been a little tense between them again. He had many questions about that date of hers, but pushed them all back in his head because he didn’t want to do that over the phone. And now that he was back and would have had the chance, she was still at school.

 

Thea bombarded them with questions, demanding pictures to every story the men shared. Over an hour they chatted and showed videos and pictures on their phones, Thea perched on the couch between them, making sure to sit a little closer to Tommy than to her brother without raising suspicions with her parents.  
Tommy surprisingly didn’t seem to mind at all that her hand more often than not ‘accidentally’ brushed his thigh or knee when she spoke, and in her head, Thea already made ‘seduction’ - plans for the rest of the week.

 

An hour later, Tommy got up from the couch, letting the Queens know he’d head back home to freshen up and get rid of his dirty laundry, but promised he’d be back for Dinner. Oliver also took the chance to sneak out and thankfully, Moira let him, giving him time to settle down before Dinner was served.  
Thea quickly sent a text to Felicity, letting her know the men arrived back here, fully intact and still smokingly hot before she retreated to her room to take a shower and pick out the perfect outfit for Dinner later. Now that Tommy was back she surely wasn’t going to let any chances pass.

Oliver followed Tommy outside, earning a confused look from his best friend.  
“My my, are you being a gentleman helping me to the door, or aren’t you ready to separate from me just yet?” he laughed, but Oliver only shook his head with a smile.

“I’m going to pick Felicity up from school.” Oliver replied and headed for the garage to get his Porsche out. “And I can’t wait to drive this thing again.” he added and hopped inside, earning an amused eye roll from his best friend.

“Yeah just remember there’s Dinner at 4. Just in case you two lovebirds forget the time or something.” Tommy grinned and got into his black Maserati, leaving Oliver no time to answer to that. Both men headed out of the driveway together, taking different directions at the main road.

 

Oliver was 20 minutes early when he arrived at her School, but with Tommy leaving the Mansion it had been his only chance to sneak out as well. So he’d rather spend the time waiting at the school parking lot instead of the Mansion.

Time was running way too slow for Felicity, especially during the last class. Thea had texted her a few minutes ago, letting her know Tommy and Oliver were still as handsome as they were when they left, making her even more anxious to finally finish school for the day and get the hell home.  
Her classmate Sarah had already offered to drop her off at the Mansion, so she at least wouldn’t have to worry taking the bus, losing even more precious time.

Hearing the ring of the bell, indicating the end of class, had never been so relieving to Felicity as at that moment. With a sigh, she closed her books, stuffed everything in her bag and left the classroom. Since Sarah’s last class had been art, she’d probably still need some more time packing up her things, giving Felicit the chance to slip into the Ladies room and freshen up. Since everyone was practically waiting for her at the Mansion already, there would be no chance to fix her hair and makeup before Oliver would see her.

Just when she returned from the Ladies room, her hair brushed and lipstick reapplied, Sarah walked up to her, a big smile on her lips.  
“You look great, Fee. Got a date or something?” she grinned at her friend, but Felicity brushed her off with a laugh.

“Naah, we just had our Senior year pictures taken today.” she shrugged and fell in step beside Sarah, heading out for the parking lot.

 

The moment the doors opened and the first students left the school building, Oliver’s head snapped up, his whole posture going rigid. Scanning every student that left the building, he tried to make out the familiar face that with the brunette locks he had missed for so long.

The groups of people leaving the building thinned out quickly, without Felicity anywhere in sight, and for a moment Oliver wondered if he was waiting at the right exit. When he was about to pull out his phone and call her, he heard an all familiar laugh.

Looking up, he saw 4 blonde girls leaving the building, all dressed to the nines, but still no Felicity anywhere to be seen. Thinking his mind was playing tricks on him, he was about to turn his attention to the phone in his head again, when two of the girls turned and walked straight to the parking lot.

 

The moment he saw Felicity’s familiar face, his phone almost dropped to the ground. Her smile and laugh was the same, but the whole rest looked like a complete different person. She looked different, even carried herself more gracefully, ladylike even. And - did she even grow a few more inches? Oliver could have sworn she was shorter when he left. But then again, Thea had grown quite a bit as well, so that was entirely possible.  
“Felicity?” he spoke up, his voice sounding completely confused and baffled.

Felicity stopped dead in her tracks and looked up at Oliver who leaned against his white Porsche. The man she hadn’t seen in 12 god damn long months. The man that was the cause for her pain and tears for so many months that he’d been away. The man with this stupidly perfect face and even more perfect eyes was suddenly standing in front of her, just a few feet away, looking equally confused and astounded, but still as handsome as she remembered him.

“Oliver,” she whispered and completely lost track of her surroundings, until Sarah called out for her.

“Fee, you coming?” she asked when she threw her bag onto the back seat and hopped into her Jeep Wrangler. Felicity quickly looked from Oliver to her friend and back to Oliver before she cleared her throat and turned to Sarah.

“I, uhm…” she nervously motioned to Oliver with her thumb, “it seems my family sent someone to pick me up. So I’ll be fine. Thanks for offering to drop me off, though.” she smiled.

“Alright,” Sara shrugged. “See you tomorrow!” she waved and pulled out of the parking lot. Felicity stood there, frozen on the spot, watching her friend drive off until she couldn’t see her any longer. Only then she slowly turned back around to face Oliver, who still stood frozen on the spot next to his car.

 

Both of them were equally confused and nervous to make the first step towards each other, and for a moment, Felicity felt very wobbly on her High Heels. Since the Senior students had their photos taken that day, she had made sure to look good, so she went to school wearing black skinny jeans, black high heeled boots and a teal blouse, tucked loosely into her waistband. Her slightly curly blonde hair had been tamed and straightened, falling loosely over her back and shoulders. The 3 inch heels added a nice height to her, making her feel a little less small and intimidated by Oliver’s size.

When he pushed off the car and closed the distance between them in a few quick strides, Felicity got the first chance to fully check him out again. He looked just as handsome as she remembered, only slightly more tanned and a little bulkier. His dark blonde hair was shorter than it has been when he left but she couldn’t say that she didn’t like it.

He stopped right in front of her and fully took her in for a minute. Looking up and down at her with almost no expression on his face, Felicity started to feel nervous and unsure about her look, until he started speaking.  
“Felicity... you look absolutely beautiful! When did all that happen?” he asked her and took a strain of her blonde hair between his fingers, letting it glide through them.

 

Felicity had to clear her throat twice before she found her voice again. The way he looked at her, with utter fascination and deep appreciation in his eyes made her knees go weak.  
“Oh uh… that’s a long story.” she admitted with a deep blush and a nervous laugh, remembering the fallout with Clarissa and the Cheerleading Team and Thea’s makeover 2.0 shortly after.

Before she could realize what was happening, Oliver had her pulled in a tight hug, the extra inches on her feet aligning her with his neck just perfectly. Her school bag long forgotten next to her feet, she wrapped her arms around his chest just as tightly and reveled in the feeling of his strong body wrapped around her, for the first time in more than 12 months.

They stood there, unmoving, wrapped up in each other, for what seemed like hours, until Felicity’s phone chirped up. The sound pulled them both back to reality and made Oliver very reluctantly loosen the hug and step back from her, even though he kept one hand protectively wrapped around her arm.  
“It’s Thea,” Felicity smiled shyly, “she’s wondering where I am.”

With a big smile on his lips, Oliver grabbed her bag with one hand and interlaced fingers with her with the other. “Well then... Let’s not keep them waiting any longer.” he announced and pulled her towards his Porsche, throwing the bag behind his seat before he opened the passenger door for her.  
“Mylady.” he grinned and waved to the passenger seat, waiting for her to hop in.

 

For some strange reason, Felicity felt incredibly nervous, sitting next to Oliver who steered the car back to the Mansion. No one really knew what to say but Felicity caught Oliver not-so-subtlety checking her out a few times.  
Everything felt just like the first day to her, when he picked her up from the bus station after Thea helped her travel through the entire country and run from her family. That all was so far away by now Felicity had almost forgotten it. But sitting in his Porsche again with Oliver checking her out every now and then, this time with a whole different look in his eyes though, made her feel all kinds of nervous and excited.

At a red light Oliver stopped and turned to her while she fixed the zipper on her heel. “God you look absolutely beautiful, Felicity. I wasn’t sure that’d even be possible.” he admitted, making the deep crimson blush return to her cheeks in an instant.

“Thank you,” she almost mumbled and internally thanked the school for having the senior pics taken that day.

“You’ve changed so much,” he replied and turned his attention back to the road when the light switched to green. For a moment, Felicity felt unsure if what Oliver was trying to say would be positive. Sure, she had changed, but that was only her wardrobe and her hair color.  
“Your clothes, your hair, the way you carry yourself now... Not that you’ve been slouching before, but somehow you seem... I don’t know, older?” he shrugged, and at his words, Felicity could feel the tension leave her body again.

“Older?” Felicity replied with a quirked eyebrow, crossed her arms over her chest and looked at him with a faked annoyance that made him laugh out loud.

“Not _old_ -older, smartass. I mean like grown up-older, matured... beautified.” He mumbled the last part, but Felicity still clearly got it, making the blush return to her cheeks in an instant. It wasn’t that she needed to hear anyone’s approval about her makeover, but hearing it from Oliver warmed her heart nonetheless. Of course she wouldn’t have changed back if he hadn’t approved of the hair color, but seeing him appreciating it so much backed her up on the decision once again.

 

Before one of them could say anything else, the Mansion appeared in their line of sight. Being able to spend the first minutes alone with Oliver was something Felicity was immensely thankful for. Seeing him with Thea, Moira and Robert around probably would have given her some more confidence, but now she was able to savor the very first hug only for him, without any nosy bystanders watching them. She loved it. 

 

Oliver helped her out of the car and shouldered her bag before Felicity got the chance to grab it. With a small smile on her lips he fell into step beside her and opened the door for her. Thea and Moira were rummaging around the living room with Raisa when Oliver and Felicity entered the room. 

“Ah, there you are, Oliver. I already wondered if you needed even more time away from your family.” Moira smiled at her son before she looked over at Felicity.  
“She has made quite the change, hasn’t she?” Moira smiled at her, but kept talking to Oliver who also gave her a once over again.

“Yeah.” he nodded appreciatively, struggling to keep any revealing looks from his eyes. That couldn’t happen, not with his mother in the room. “I didn’t recognize her at first.” he chuckled, masking his tension behind a joke.

“Just for the record,” Felicity spoke up and took a step forward, grabbing the school bag from Oliver’s shoulder, “talking about someone in the 3rd person is kind of weird when said person is in the room.” She shook her head with small chuckle when she walked over to Thea, making her blonde hair flow over her shoulders and Oliver once again failed miserably at masking the longing look in his eyes while he watched her go.

“Dinner will be served in an hour.” Moira called after the girls while Thea and Felicity sped up to their rooms.

 

“They both have grown up so much,” Oliver sighed and took a seat on the couch next to his mother when the girls were out of sight, “it feels like I’ve been away for longer than just a year.”

“Yeah, they are slowly becoming two impressive young ladies.” Moira admitted with a smile, her eyes lost in thoughts about her only daughter and her foster child, whom she had started to love as a daughter as well. “But I won’t lie, Oliver, they also had a lot of problems accommodating to the fact that you were gone for that long time. Both of them, not only your sister.”

Oliver didn’t say anything, he just nodded absently and watched the family picture that sat on the chimney in front of them. He hadn’t seen that one yet. It showed his parents, Thea and Felicity sitting in front of a christmas tree, everyone smiling for the camera. Felicity’s hair was still brunette, and both girls’ smiles didn’t fully reach their ears like they normally did on these family pictures.  
For anyone else this might have looked like a picture of a happy family sitting in front of a christmas tree. But Oliver knew his little sister better than that. He even knew Felicity better than that. And though both girls smiled into the camera, he could see the sadness in their eyes. Especially in Felicity’s. Something he had already discovered on the picture Thea had sent him months ago, even though he never asked her about it. He knew all too well that he himself was the reason for that look, so there wasn’t any need to put more salt into the wound and ask her about it.

“1 year has been a long time,” Moira suddenly continued, snapping Oliver out of his thoughts, “and I’d like you to take it slow with your sister and Felicity.”  
Oliver looked at her with total confusion. He had no idea what his mother was trying to tell him. “Both girls have grown up a lot in the last months, have new interests, different schedules, a different mindset. I don’t want you to expect to see the girls you have left behind last year. That is all I’m trying to say.” Moira told him with her usual warm smile.

“I’ll go and see Raisa to set up things with her for Dinner.”  
With a small nod and a pat to his knee, Moira got up from the couch and left Oliver alone with his thoughts. Had really that much changed since he left? Everything appeared the same so far, except for Felicity’s look and hair. But Thea seemed like herself and so did Felicity, even though the air felt a little tense between them. But since there were still things to talk about between them, he didn’t expect anything else. So his mother’s words didn’t really made sense to him.

 

An hour later the Queen Mansion was back to its full flurry of activity like it hasn’t been since the day the boys left. Felicity and Thea had locked themselves in Thea’s room and when Oliver passed their door and heard the girls talking, he thought about knocking and see what they were up to for a moment. But then his mother’s words rang in his mind and he thought better of it. They probably weren’t too interested to chit-chat with their older brother.

When Tommy’s Maserati pulled up in the driveway shortly after, Thea stormed to her door and dashed downstairs, followed by a very amused Felicity. Although she hadn’t seen Tommy yet and was very excited hugging and talking to him again as well, it was Thea who was literally head over heels for him.  
With a smile on her lips, thinking about the major crush Thea had on Oliver’s best friend, she let Thea’s room and pulled out her phone to send Dan a short text message, letting him know she wouldn’t be able to meet tonight, when she suddenly crashed into a very solid - and very good smelling chest.

“Oh hey,” Oliver half laughed, half breathed when Felicity crashed into him, her eyes solely on her phone. Oliver’s hands that prevented her from falling to the ground (damn high heels!) lingered a little longer on her arms than needed, but Felicity was too nervous to take a step back. No, scratch that. She didn’t _want_ to take a step back. Feeling Oliver’s hands on her body again, especially his thumbs that made these soothing little circles on her skin, was something she so dearly missed the last 12 months that stepping away from him was so far away on her mind, she didn’t give it one thought. Even the half typed text message to her _boyfriend_ was suddenly long forgotten.  
“And here I thought multitasking was something women were good at” he chuckled, snapping Felicity out of her thoughts in an instant.

“Wh - what?” she asked him and looked up into his eyes. The moment their eyes met, Felicity lost all clear thoughts about what she wanted to do and where she wanted to go. She just - stared at him.

“Multitasking?” Oliver asked again, his eyebrow raised slightly, the amusement clearly visible on his face. “You were texting when you left Thea’s room. And walking in those sexy Heels while texting on the phone doesn’t seem to go so well.” he told her with an amused grin and, much to Felicity’s displeasure, took a step back from her and let go of her arms.

Felicity looked at him for a moment, processing what Oliver had just said, when suddenly her phone started ringing, snapping them both out of their silent conversation.  
“It’s Thea,” Felicity told him when she checked the screen of her phone and Oliver’s face almost looked a little bit relieved. Not that she could figure out what that meant.

“She’s probably waiting for you downstairs. Tommy just arrived.” Oliver smiled and took a step forward, offering her his arm. “Not that you trip again.” he smiled and with a pointed look at him, but a small smile on her lips, Felicity hooked her arm in his and followed him through the hallway, the phone with her half typed text message stuffed back into the back pocket of her jeans. Dan would have to wait to hear from her; after all, he knew that they were celebrating a family reunion today, so he’d understand.

 

Felicity spotted Tommy’s jet black hair the moment she and Oliver stepped into the living room. Thea was standing right next to him, but still far enough so neither Robert nor Moira would get suspicious. Felicity knew better though. And she knew that Thea needed the close contact with her brother’s best friend now, but Felicity needed a hug from that man as well.

Stepping closer, Tommy greeted her with a wide grin and open arms.

“Damn, Merlyn… are that muscles I can feel? What did you do? Lift buoys on sea?” she laughed into his chest and hugged him tightly.

“Damn yourself, Lissy. You look hot!” Tommy laughed back, earning a low growl from his best friend.

“Watch it, Merlyn, that’s my sister you’re talking about.” Oliver growled with a grin and a pointed finger in Tommy’s direction. Everyone laughed, Tommy included, even though he knew better that Oliver wasn’t totally joking.

 

“Dude, you’re in so much trouble it’s not even funny any more.” Tommy whispered with a grin when he walked past Oliver to take a seat at the table, earning an exhausted sigh from his best friend. Tommy was right, ever since they had returned and Oliver first laid eyes on Felicity again, he was even more in deep with her, even though that was barely possible.

The conversations around the table were as relaxed as they have ever been, thanks to Tommy and Oliver being back. Since Oliver had done most of the talking when they arrived back earlier, Tommy was now gladly answering every question thrown at them. Thea was the one asking most of the time with Moira and Robert laughing and chuckling, while Oliver kept stealing glances at Felicity every now and then. He was so enthralled by her new look, but even more than that by the way she carried herself now, so stark different to the young woman he left behind 12 months ago.

 

The following few days were completely packed for Oliver and Tommy, leaving them with very little spare time for their families. Luggage needed to be unpacked, work stuff sorted out with Merlyn Inc and Queen Consolidated and both Oliver and Tommy had some stressful days at College, discussing classes and final exams with their professors.

Thea and Felicity rarely saw ‘their’ men during that time, sometimes Oliver and Tommy even missed dinner with the Queens. But for Thea, the knowledge that her brother and Tommy were back with them put her at ease already, and for Felicity, her tight afternoon schedule and the fact that Dan asked for her attention the rest of the day, helped her thinking about Oliver too much.

 

Ever since Oliver had returned back from his trip, the nervous feeling in her gut had only intensified. Felicity knew she needed to tell him about her relationship with Dan, and he deserved to hear it from her and not from someone else. But what scared her wasn’t maybe seeing anger or sadness in his eyes if she told him; what scared her the most was the possibility that Oliver might not care at all, confirming her thoughts and fears that, whatever that was between them, wasn’t there any more.

Luckily, Thea had kept her mouth shut so far, and with Dan only knowing that Felicity’s foster brother was back in town, but not knowing about the extent of their friendship until he left the country 12 months ago, Felicity was sure to keep it that way with him. Her boyfriend didn’t need to know about the feelings she harbored towards another man; not just any man, but her foster brother, at that.

But the more time she spent with Dan, the more she realized that stalling wasn’t the way to go for her. It wasn’t fair to neither Dan nor Oliver, and it certainly wasn’t an acceptable situation for herself. She needed to find a solution to that problem and figure out her feelings, and she needed to do it fast.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A new (little lighter, after that episode last night - 'sniffle') Chapter for you guys! :)
> 
> Enjoy!  
> And thanks so much for all the congrats on the little foal. Little Ollie is doing great, already exploring the world and getting in trouble with the big guys, so momma has come to the rescue more often than not. :D

5 days after they arrived back in Starling City, Oliver left for college early in the morning to get the final details for his exams sorted out. Since Robert had already announced he wanted to talk to Oliver about his future job at Queen Consolidated, Moira had made plans for dinner later that day, something that Thea and Felicity were very eager about, since it had been almost a week since they all sat together.

With the afternoon off for both girls and the weather bright and sunny in Starling City, Thea suggested hitting up the pool. Felicity was reluctant at first, since Dan was about to pick her up and spend the day with her, but when Thea told her that Oliver and Tommy announced they wouldn’t be back before dinner at 8 and that, instead of going to the City where Felicity might run into one of them, they could very well spend the afternoon at the pool together instead, so Felicity agreed and invited Dan over to the mansion.

 

It was two hours after they each took a lounge bed around the pool and relaxed in the sun when suddenly Oliver returned home earlier than any of them had anticipated.

Thea was the first to hear her brother walking through the Mansion while she refilled their drinks in the kitchen.

“Who’s that?” Oliver asked with a nod of his chin towards the patio doors, when he walked into the kitchen and saw Dan and Felicity sitting at the pool together, laughing about some joke Dan apparently had made. Thea’s head snapped around, following Oliver’s hard stare to the pool area in the garden.

“That’s Dan.” she quickly replied before she continued filling glass carafe with orange juice. When she saw Oliver’s clearly confused look, she rolled her eyes with a sigh. “The guy I told you about a few weeks ago? The one who took Felicity to that Zoo Safari night?”

At that statement, something clicked in Oliver’s mind.  
“Wait a second, is _THAT_ jerk out there her boyfriend or something?” he almost yelled a little too loud, making Thea’s eyes roll even more.

“You don’t even know him, Ollie, so stop sounding like an ass. I know him from school, he seems like a nice guy and he treats Fee good. And if **you** had decided to grow a pair ages ago and properly asked her out when she gave you multiple chances to, you could be the one sitting there now instead of standing here, chewing your sister’s ears off. Besides, I don’t think you have the right to go all caveman on her, so cut her some slack. Felicity deserves some happiness after all the bullshit she had to go through and I’m not going to sit back and watch her getting hurt again, be it by someone else, or my own brother. After all, SHE wasn’t the one who went off on a boat for one fucking year, ignorantly leaving everyone behind like it’s no big deal!” Thea snapped at her brother, her eyes turned into angry slits.

 

Oliver stood there, completely dumbfounded for a moment.  
His mother was right. So much had changed in the 12 months Tommy and he had been away. Way more than he caught over the calls and texts with his family throughout that timeframe. Seeing Felicity so grown up and even more beautiful than she had been when he left was one thing. And he could totally deal with that, not that it made things any easier for him. But having to see her with someone else now was something he couldn’t - and wouldn’t accept just as easily. Not after everything they’ve been through together, and certainly not after they had talked about their feelings before he left.  
And on top of that, his little sister, his baby-sister, had become an even more fierce creature. Oliver knew Thea was never shy to speak her mind, but seeing her speak so openly about something that everyone involved tried to keep hidden under the table, really surprised him. But he could also see the hurt in her eyes while she yelled at him. Before he left, he knew it would be hard for her, not being able to see her big brother for 12 months, but at that moment he realized, he had no idea how much she had suffered during that time. And seeing the pain in her eyes at that moment, something he probably had never seen before since she never allowed to show it, made him realize there wasn’t only Felicity he had to make it up to. His little sister deserved an apology just as much.

Thea pulled him out of his thoughts when she rounded the kitchen counter, the tray with drinks in hand and without another word, made her way out to the pool again. Before Oliver could make up his mind or think it through, he followed her outside.

Felicity’s eyes went wide in shock as soon as she saw Oliver following his sister out of the house. The entire week she had made sure Dan and Oliver wouldn’t meet at the Mansion, afraid Oliver might throw one of his temper tantrums at Dan. And when Tommy told her they would be in the city all afternoon, she thought it was safe to invite Dan over and spend some time at the pool. Apparently she was wrong.

With an almost panicky, begging look in her eyes she met Oliver’s gaze for a second before he stopped next to Dan’s lounge bed and looked down at the man.  
“Hi, I don’t think we’ve met before. I’m Oliver, Felicity’s disapproving foster brother.” he spoke up with a straight face, extending his hand to the other man.

Dan got up from the lounge bed and shook his hand, feeling the tight grip Oliver was keeping on him, probably to prove a point. “Dan.” he bluntly replied, trying to sound unfazed by the subtle threat the other man had sent him.

 

Both men held a staring contest for what seemed like an eternity. Felicity sent Thea a helpless look, who looked just as overwhelmed as her. When she put the tray down a little louder than needed though, making the glasses rattle on it, both men snapped out of their stares and looked over. When Oliver met Felicity’s hard gaze and saw the way she kept a hand on Dan’s biceps, he squeezed his opponent’s hand one last time before he let go. He was fuming, and the fact that he couldn’t show that in front of his sister, Felicity and that jock named Dan, made him even more furious. He didn’t like that guy one bit.

No, scratch that. He hated him. He already did when Thea had told him Felicity was on a date, even though he had no idea who the guy was. Now that he stood face to face with that idiot, he just wanted to punch him. At least for the fact that _he_ was the reason Felicity and him didn’t get the chance to speak when he tried to call her that evening. Because she was out with _him_.

The desire to just punch him became almost unbearable. He needed to get away from there. But letting Felicity alone with that jerk wasn’t an option, not if he could help it. At least Thea was there, too. That would mean that this jerk wouldn’t try anything with Felicity - or so Oliver hoped.

Quickly looking around the pool area, he made up his mind and jogged back into the Mansion, followed by 3 very confused looking pairs of eyes.  
“Wow, your brother is pretty... grumpy.” Dan mused while he tried to rub back some feeling into his numb fingers.

“Grumpy doesn’t even cover it by a long chalk.” Thea replied with an eye roll and sat back down on her lounge bed.

Felicity didn’t say anything at all. That definitely wasn’t how she wanted them to meet. Not that she wanted them to meet at all. It was something that had kept her awake almost every night since Oliver came back from his trip. And it wasn’t that she was worried about Dan; well, she was, but only because she feared Oliver might lose it and punch him, especially after she had seen how he reacted on New Year’s when he saw her with Max. And if the encounter a few minutes ago was any indication, she knew her thoughts weren’t that far off. But in fact, she was more worried about Oliver and what he’d think. 10 months she was mourning for him, crying into his shirt every night, a shirt that she still kept hidden under her pillow. And just a few weeks before their return she’d run into the arms of a stranger? Of course he’d be confused. He had every right to. Heck, even she was confused herself most of the time. More often than not she asked herself if she was really, genuinely interested in Dan, or if he was just nothing but a buffer, a distraction, because Oliver was terminally unavailable and she had no idea if he’d ever be?

These thoughts gave her a major headache every time she tried to find a solution, and one of her first plans actually had been to talk to Oliver, and then tell him about Dan, gauging his reaction about these news. But these two meeting? Yeah, not as long as she could avoid it.  
Apparently that plan only worked so long.

 

The tension had almost left Felicity’s body again the longer Oliver had been gone, when suddenly the doors from the living room swung open and an incredibly sexy looking Oliver, dressed in nothing but his swim shorts and his sunglasses, a towel thrown over his shoulder, strode over to the pool. Thea only took short notice when he grabbed the free lounge bed just opposite of Felicity and threw his towel on it. Dan tried to look unfazed by the very well toned body and sculpted abs that Oliver had put on display and Felicity? She thanked the google gods for her sunglasses that helped her mask the nervous blush that crept up her face, not only from Oliver, but most of all, from Dan.

No one said a word to Oliver for at least 10 minutes, and he looked like he didn’t mind at all. Behind the safety of her sunglasses she could glance over to the other side of the pool and take a short look at Oliver’s body every now and then without getting caught while Dan chatted with Thea.  
She didn’t know for sure, but with the way Oliver had relaxed his arms behind his head, seemingly enjoying the afternoon sun, she was sure he was watching her, too. Or, more accurately, watching Dan beside her.

When Dan suddenly grabbed over the lounge bed and took her hand in his, interlacing fingers with her, Felicity could see Oliver stop breathing for a moment. It was just a short tick of his jaw and the way his back went rigid, but she had seen it. And judging from the way he clenched his fist behind his head, he was probably fuming.

It didn’t make a lot of sense to her, but it certainly satisfied her. So she wasn’t the only one being affected by seeing _him_ with other women. Proud she was able to feed him at least a little bit of his own medicine, Felicity leaned back and let Dan hold her hand when she turned her attention to Thea lying next to her.

The girls casually chatted about school and weekend plans, everyone completely ignoring Oliver on the other side of the pool. Felicity could feel him watching them, watching her. She could also feel Dan’s tight hold on her hand, making her palm sweaty and sticky. She slowly slipped her hand out of his grasp and rested the palm on her sundress in her lap, the motion not going unnoticed by Oliver. Dan didn’t seem to mind, though, and kept chatting with Thea instead.

When Oliver decided to show off a little (yeah, definitely showing off, the way he ‘accidentally’ flexed his muscles) and jumped into the pool, Dan headed inside for a moment to use the bathroom.

“FYI,” Thea whispered when she leaned over the lounge bed into Felicity’s personal space, “Ollie’s been undressing you with his eyes for the past twenty minutes. And I don’t think Dan and my dear brother will become besties any time soon.” she chuckled.

Felicity snorted and swatted her best friends arm before leaning back into her lounge bed, pushing the sunglasses higher on her nose. When she shifted her head slightly she could see Oliver’s hot, hungry gaze glued to her, even as he continued to casually paddled through the pool.

 

Was she really doing the right thing, by dating Dan? Things would be different if Oliver wasn’t interested, but their shared past and the way he looked at her ever since he returned home told her he apparently was. Or he was just jealous and simply didn’t want to see her with anyone else. Wouldn’t be the first time he acted all caveman over her but at the same time had no intentions to make a move on her himself.

“Yeah well, simply ogling me won’t get him anywhere.” Felicity shrugged and watched Dan return back from the pool house.

Deciding to feed him his own medicine for a bit, Felicity put on a wicked grin and winked at Thea before turning her attention to her boyfriend, speaking loud enough that Oliver could hear her, too.  
“Want to go for a swim? I could cool down a bit.”

Dan shook his head. “Naah, not for me, I’ll meet dad at 7pm and don’t want to shower before that.”

“I’m in.” Thea piped up from the side, shrugging off her sundress in the process. With a shrug in Dan’s direction, Felicity pulled her sundress over her head as well, seeing the way Oliver’s jaw tightened within an instant. For some strange reason it made her proud that not only Dan seemed to appreciate her body, but most of all, Oliver did so, too. Very much so, judging by the way he grinded his molars.

After pinning her hair into a loose bun, Felicity slowly slid into the water. Thea, being the silly girl, cannonballed into the pool, splashing water in all directions.

“How old are you? Four?” Felicity growled at her best friend while wiping droplets of water out of her face. Thea kept giggling and ignoring her friend’s comment and went on to torment her brother with a pool noodle instead.  
“Thank god you’re back, Oliver.” Felicity sighed as she watched Thea trying to slap her brother with the pool noodle over and over again. “I don’t think I could have handled that silliness for much longer.”

 

When the sun started to set and Dan announced he had to leave to meet his dad, the girls decided to head back inside as well. It felt awkward for Felicity to kiss Dan in front of Oliver, so she quickly followed him inside and helped him to the door, leaving Oliver behind at the pool area.

 

Seeing her leave with Dan made Oliver’s gut wrench. He hated to see her with someone else so close beside her, putting his hand where Oliver’s should be instead.  
Her dating that guy now had completely destroyed his well laid out plans. The last weeks on the ocean on their way back to US ground gave him enough time to think about his future and the time he had spent with Felicity so far. And part of him could only curse himself for not seeing things clearer sooner, for not having the balls to officially make a move on her sooner, even if they had to hide things for a while.  
He knew Felicity was still too young and that he morally had made the right decision by keeping her at arm's length, but as soon as he returned back home he wanted to make it up to her again, take her out on dates, squeeze some free time into his schedule that he solely kept for her, giving the two finally a chance to make things work between them.

But the moment he saw Felicity dating that guy, his well laid out plans started to wobble. Starting a messy fight with her boyfriend was totally out of the question since he neither wanted to cause any attention now had he any interest in fighting with a High School guy over Felicity. It wasn’t that she didn’t deserve it, but kicking a minor’s ass just to prove a point wasn’t the smart way to do.  
It pained him to be so helpless when it came to Felicity at the moment, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t throw a few verbal punches at that jock of a boyfriend of hers every now and then, all under the pretext of the disapproving foster-brother, of course.  
Yeah, he could totally do that for a while, until Felicity made up her mind and realized she was with the completely wrong guy. Hopefully.

 

 

Oliver and Dan didn’t run into each other any more after the pool encounter. Felicity tried to keep her boyfriend out of the mansion at all costs and only met with him in the city or at his place when she wasn’t 100% sure that Oliver wouldn’t be at home. She surely had no intentions to repeat the situation again and thankfully, Dan seemed to have forgotten the encounter entirely.

 

Two days later, Felicity took the night off to study for an upcoming exam when a soft knock broke the silence of her room.  
“Knock, knock?” Thea spoke with a low voice, ripping Felicity out of her thoughts. “Can I come in?”

“Sure,” Felicity smiled back, closing the books she had been studying. “I can't seem to get anything into this brain tonight, anyway.” she sighed and rubbed her temples.

Thea padded into the room and took a seat on the foot of Felicity’s bed, waiting for her friend to round the desk and join her.  
“Can I ask you something?” The tentativeness with that Thea spoke, made Felicity’s interest instantly grow.

“You already did.” she grinned and hopped onto the bed next to her friend. 

Thea nervously fidgeted with a loose strand on the comforter when she tried to find the right words. Felicity hadn’t seen her friend nervous for quite a while now. It instantly intrigued her what Thea might be up to.  
“I know it really is none of my business, but… this thing between Dan and you… why are you dating him, Fee? Do you really like him? I mean, really, really like him?”

Felicity looked a little surprised to hear that. No, scratch that. It downright confused her. Thea’s words coupled with the serious yet worried look on her face told Felicity that this wasn’t one of her friend’s jokes. Thea was dead serious about what she had asked.

The girls rarely talked about their ‘relationship statuses’ ever since Felicity started dating Dan. Before that, it had always been about Oliver and her, and Tommy and Thea. Felicity realized a while ago that she dearly missed the nightly banters with her best friend about ‘their’ men, and with Thea’s worried questions now, it certainly seemed like Thea had noticed it, too.

“I do like him,” Felicity began and relaxed her back against the headboard, “but why do you ask, Thea?”

Taking a small breath, Thea looked her friend dead in the eye when she spoke.  
“I’m going to be honest with you, Fee... when you started seeing Dan I thought you guys were just friends and that it would end as soon as Ollie and Tommy returned. But then this thing between you seemed to get more serious, and I wondered if you did it to kind of hurt my brother - for everything that he’d done to you already. Kind of a payback, if you will.”

Felicity watched her friend with a frozen expression. Out of everything she’d expected to hear now, she certainly didn’t expect to hear THIS.

“And at first, I was totally okay with it, you know? I mean, I already told you Ollie deserved a little kick in the ass and I figured that dating Dan in front of my brother would be your way to do it. But I see the way Ollie looks at you ever since they returned, and I see the way you tense up and put an invisible barrier between Dan and yourself every time Ollie is around, as if you didn’t want my brother to see you two in any intimate way. So it got me thinking. And that’s why I had to ask you, Fee. You’re my friend, and Ollie’s my brother. And sure, I hate him more times than I love him, and I do love to see his ass getting kicked every now and then for all the stunts he pulled with you in the past... but damn girl, I didn’t fought so hard to make my stupid brother realize how he feels about you and now that he finally does, you’re the one running in the other direction. That’s not how it’s supposed to be.” she smiled, making Felicity laugh slightly.

“Dan is really sweet, Thea. And I really like him. Do I love him? No. Do I see a future with him? I honestly have no idea. Right now he gives me a good feeling when he’s around and I enjoy his company. And regarding Oliver, I already told you... as long as he doesn’t come to me and tells me exactly how he feels, I don’t know a thing. I don’t assume any longer, I want facts. I have sit around for so long, wondering this and that without exactly knowing. Did he have a murderous look on his face when he met Dan at the pool? Maybe. But I doubt he was pissed that I’m with Dan, I think he’s just pissed that I’m with _anyone_. You remember when I told you that Oliver said he couldn’t be with me but didn’t want me to be with anyone else, either?”

Thea nodded with a small shrug, willing her friend to continue.  
“Yeah well until he tells me otherwise, that’s exactly how it feels to me. So I surely won’t break up with Dan only because Oliver can’t seem to handle seeing us. He didn’t care when he dragged all these girls here, so I certainly won’t do so, either. Right now, I enjoy the time that I spend with Dan. If that changes at some point and we have to part ways, then that’s inevitable. But for now, I’ll keep things just the way they are right now. Anything else wouldn’t be fair to Dan, anyway.”

Thea sighed but seemed to understand Felicity’s point of view. Felicity could also understand that Thea missed their nightly chats about the boys, but things had changed quite a bit and satisfy everyone wasn’t possible for her any more.  
“You guys really need to talk this shit out, once and for all.” she sighed, earning a silent nod from Felicity.

“That may be true, but the last time I’ve been the one to come to him. Now it’s his turn. If he has something to say about his feelings, he knows where to find me.”

She knew Oliver was unhappy when he saw her with Dan, she could practically feel it radiating from his body. But that didn’t tell her a thing yet about his feelings. And it wasn’t that she hadn’t given him a chance to catch her so they could talk privately. But Oliver had never made a move, and that told Felicity all she needed to know for the moment.

 

 

Felicity’s praise words over her boyfriend didn’t last as long as she’d guessed, though.  
A few days after her conversation with Thea, Dan had come over to the Mansion to spend the afternoon with Felicity. What began as relaxed snuggles and some film quickly turned into something more heated.

“Dan.” Felicity mumbled into his shirt when he sneaked his fingers under her top and over her bra. Trying to lift his heavy chest off of her but failing miserably under his bulky frame, she wriggled away from his hands, hoping he would listen to her and stop his movements.  
“Dan,” she tried again a little louder and more annoyed when he showed no desire to stop. “get off me!”

With an annoyed groan he lifted his upper body off of her and leaned on his elbows, effectively caging her in under him. Felicity immediately started to pull down her shirt again and kept her hands safely tucked over the hem of it, giving him no chance to sneak under it again.  
“I would appreciate if we moved things a little faster than that snail pace you’re going, Lis.” he groaned, clearly annoyed by her - once again - stopping him from going further.

Completely taken aback by his blunt statement, Felicity pushed at his chest and shoved his body away from her, crouching to the headboard to put a little distance between them.  
“Excuse me?” she snapped at him and if the small slits that looked at him were any indication, Dan could only guess how angry she was. “Snail pace?”

“Yes, Lis,” he growled, sat up on his heels and went to buckle up the loose buttons of his shirt while he spoke. “Snail pace. For weeks we’re doing nothing else than just kiss and cuddle like some 12 year olds, and I’m growing tired of it. I know you wanted to take things slow, and I was fine with that... but this -” he said, gesturing over the bed to her and back to him, “this is starting to get ridiculous. Taking things slowly means progression, even if it’s just a slow one, Lis. Yet we’re doing nothing else than treading water for nearly 3 weeks now!”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” she muttered more to herself, and instantly grabbed for the comforter that they had laid on just moments ago. “If taking it slow means getting into my pants in less than 3 weeks for you, we clearly have different opinions on ‘taking things slowly’, Dan.” she snapped at him before shielding her body away from his look, suddenly feeling exposed and too vulnerable with him staring at her.

Dan got off from the mattress and stood at the foot of the bed, his eyes boring into her, arms crossed over his chest. He was starting to lose his patience.  
“What is your problem with loosening up a little and just believing me that I won’t do anything you won’t like? Actually... it’s not so bad, trust me.” he took a step closer to her, ready to climb on the mattress again and smirked at her with that stupid annoying grin she had only seen once on him, but instantly disliked.

“Fuck you!” she yelled and pulled the comforter even tighter around herself. “Get out of here. Now!!”  
She wanted him gone out of her room, and that fast. Much to her chagrin Thea was out in the city for the afternoon or else she’d probably have come to her rescue already.

Dan watched her for a moment, clearly trying to gather his thoughts before he roughly pulled on his shoes, grabbed his backpack from her desk and started heading for the door. “You know what? Fuck it. You’re clearly too uptight and prudish! What a waste of time!” he snapped and before Felicity could blink, he was out of the door, pulling it close so roughly, the bang made her flinch.

She could hear the faint footsteps leaving the hallway and out of the building before she heard the familiar car start and speed out of the driveway. Only then she let herself allow to leave a breath she had been holding ever since he started yelling at her.  
Tears started to stream down her face and her whole body shook violently once realization kicked in. Was Dan right? Was she really prudish and too scared to move things forward between them? She had tried, could feel that Dan wanted to go further, but every time he did, she could feel the uneasiness in her stomach, her whole body wanting him to stop. I just didn’t feel right. Should she have ignored that feeling? No, that’s not how she wanted things to roll. And somehow with Oliver, she had never felt that way. Not once.

Dan had been so understanding at first, could he really have fooled her like that? More tears streamed down her face, her whole body starting to sob and wack uncontrollably. Oh how she wished Thea was home right now, wanting nothing more than her friends’ shoulder to lean on and cry into.

Unable to find her voice to call her, Felicity sent her best friend a short text, asking her when she would come. The added S.O.S. at the end made sure Thea knew it was urgent.  
Within seconds, Thea’s response chirped up in her phone.  
_’On my way.’_

Thankful that her friend would be there any time soon, Felicity tried to relax into the sheets and get a small amount of rest, but the damn tears just wouldn’t stop and she couldn’t will her limbs to stop shaking either. It was frustrating as hell.

 

After a while, she didn’t even try to hold back her tears any more. The afternoon had went terrible, and coupled with the nagging thoughts about Oliver ever since he returned from his trip, everything finally broke out of Felicity. She sobbed into her pillow, wanting nothing more than her best friend to sit beside her and give her any advice how to handle the mess she’d maneuvered herself in.

When Moira heard the soft whimpers coming from Felicity’s room, she stops dead in her tracks for a moment. Hadn’t Felicity said she’d spend the afternoon with her boyfriend?

Giving her door a soft knock but getting no answer from inside, Moira slowly opened the door and peeked into the room. Felicity lay on her bed, sobbing into her pillow, so devastated she didn’t even notice her foster mother entering the room.  
A warm hand on her shoulder snapped Felicity out of her cries, making her look up in shock. As soon as she spotted Moira’s worried frown, her features relaxed slightly. At least it wasn’t Oliver seeing her like this.

“What’s wrong, dear?” Moira softly asked her and handed her a tissue from the nightstand. It took Felicity a moment to gather her words and get her tears and running nose under control, but as soon as she did, everything practically bubbled out of her.

In a somewhat weird conversation, a first one like that between Moira and her, Felicity told her about what happened with Dan.  
After examining Felicity’s disheveled face for a moment, Moira stroked over Felicity’s hair twice, squeezed her foster child’s hand lightly and gave her a warm, compassionate smile.  
“You know, Felicity,” Moira began speaking while she petted her foster child’s blond hair. She instantly had Felicity’s attention. “What defines us isn’t how we fall, but how we land.”

At Moira’s rather cryptic message, Felicity frowned. When the Queen head saw the confused look on her, she gave her a little smile and patted her knee before she spoke again.  
“Get up, wipe the dust off your back, fix your make-up and show him that you are better than him, that you’re a strong woman capable of making her own decisions.”

Okay, that message was clear and sound to her. And the way Moira so loosely and openly spoke to her really surprised Felicity. Usually the Queen head was all calm and collected, always chose her wording carefully. Till that day, Felicity had never hear the Queen head use a swear word once and it impressed her to no end.  
It warmed her heart that her foster mother was so much more than just the business woman she got to meet the first time she arrived at the Queen Mansion, being utterly intimidated by her. After all these months in their foster care, all the birthdays and christmases, and especially after this talk, Moira started to feel like a second mother to Felicity. The first real feeling of a mother since her parents passed away all these years ago. Something she hadn’t felt with the Wallers one single time.

With another light squeeze and a smile, Moira got up from the bed, flattened out her dress and left the room with the usual graceful posture Felicity had always admired.  
“I expect you at dinner with a smile.” she added with a pointed finger and a small smile before closing the door behind her, leaving Felicity alone with her thoughts once again.  
She hadn’t thought she’d gain such a strong ally in someone like Moira Queen, and she surely didn’t think she’d be able to tell Moira so openly about what happened just half an hour ago. Up until that moment, Felicity hadn’t realized how much Moira had wormed herself into Felicity’s heart already, intentionally or not.

 

When Thea texted her to let her know she’d be a little later, Felicity decided to head downstairs and grab something to drink. The thought of leaving her room just yet dreaded her, but since Moira already knew what happened and everyone else was still out of the house, she sighed and hopped out of bed.

When she walked into the kitchen minutes later, though, she almost ran straight into the arms of Oliver. Turning on her heel and bolting back into her room suddenly sounded like a great idea, but she didn’t want to be so chicken with him. Besides, he’d probably follow her and confront her in her room after seeing her like that, followed by her running out of the kitchen. So she might as well get over with it now and head back upstairs as quick as possible. With a deep breath she stepped into the kitchen and headed straight for the fridge.

The moment Oliver saw her disheveled state, her tousled hair and, most of all, her red and puffy eyes, he stopped in his tracks and took a step towards her.  
“Felicity? Are you okay? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong, Oliver,” she sniffled and forced a small smile, “just had a shitty day that’s all.”

He eyed her for a moment, arms crossed over his chest, while she walked up to the fridge and poured herself a glass of orange juice. “Bullshit.”  
Her slumped shoulders and the very clear remnants of at least an hour of crying on her face clearly told him that there was more than just a shitty day. The moment he saw her sad smile, it dawned upon him.  
“I’m going to kill that son of a bitch! What did he do, Felicity?” Oliver snarled through gritted teeth, having to force himself not to grab and squeeze her arms in his rage. He couldn’t stand seeing her in pain, especially not in pain apparently caused by that douchebag of a boyfriend.

Felicity flinched slightly at Oliver’s sudden angry outburst. She hadn’t heard that voice in a long time from him and for a moment she wasn’t sure if it was directed towards her. Seeing his clenched fists but the worry in his eyes, she gave him another forced, sad smile and took a step back to the kitchen counter.  
“It’s okay, Oliver… nothing to worry about.”

With a sad smile and small pat on his arm, she made her way out of the kitchen and back into her room, not sparing Oliver another glance. She loved him for being so alerted and worried, but right at that moment she couldn’t deal with his worry or help. She just needed a few hours alone with herself, with no Oliver being overly protective. Moira’s words had helped her a lot, and for the rest of the day Felicity wanted nothing more than burying her nose in her study books and focus on anything but Dan.

 

The moment Thea stormed into her room and demanded to know every detail of what happened, Felicity sighed and plopped back into the pillows. After telling Moira the whole story, she didn’t feel too excited to tell Thea again, but since she very well couldn’t say anything to Moira about her feelings for Oliver, she was glad her best friend was there. Even though it meant having to repeat every single detail once again.

 

As promised, Felicity arrived to dinner with a small smile on her lips. It wasn’t quite an honest one, but she figured that Moira more often than not had to play a part as well to keep up her appearance. And if Moira could do that every day, she certainly could do it for a mere hour with the family over dinner. Besides, Moira just asked for a smile, she didn’t say it had to be a genuine one. So that she could do.  
Oliver still looked as worried as he did when she left him in the kitchen earlier, but Thea luckily promised not to press the matter after having talked about it for more than an hour, so she focused her attention on her best friend and the plate in front of her while they all sat at the table.

Everyone could feel something was up but luckily, no one asked any questions. Moira sent her foster child a small smile and nod, making it a little easier for Felicity to survive this dinner. No one ever said life would be easy, right?

As soon as dinner was over, Felicity quickly excused herself into her room again. Robert was about to say something but the hand that Moira put on her husband's arm instantly shut him up. Mentally thanking Moira once again, Felicity made it back to her room with quick steps. She couldn’t wait to be in her room again and busy her brain with anything non-Dan until she passed out.

 

Half an hour into her studies, a soft knock pulled her out of her thoughts. When the door opened and Oliver’s head peeked inside, she gave him a short smile.

“Hey,” he softly spoke before slowly taking a step inside her room. “Can I come in?”

Well you’re practically in my room already,” she chuckled slightly, “so yeah, Oliver… come in.”

He closed the door and walked over to the couch near the desk and watched her study for a while. She seemed to have trouble concentrating on her task and with Oliver’s persistent stares, she couldn’t do anything else than closing her books and take a break.  
“So… what’s up?” she asked him, rubbing her temples to soothe the headache that started to form there.

“Are you feeling a little better?” The real concern about her clearly showing in his voice warmed her heart, but Felicity still was in no mood to talk about the Dan-incident from earlier that day, especially not with Oliver who so strongly disliked Dan, not that Felicity could blame him.  
And after that day, she not only didn’t blame him, she also took sides with Oliver. Dan had shown her his true face and intentions and she hated herself for not seeing it sooner.

“I already told you, Oliver… everything’s alright. I just got up on the wrong foot today, that’s all.” she smiled with a shrug.

“Felicity,” Oliver began with a soft voice, resting his elbows on his knees, “when did we stop being honest with each other?”

His voice was free of any accusation or anger, just utter confusion paired with a slight frown on his face. Felicity could see that he wasn’t trying to start a discussion or get her to talk about what happened, he only seemed genuinely concerned about the friendship between them.  
But it wasn’t that he didn’t know about her relationship with Dan; and besides that, he would find out what happened sooner or later, so telling him in person wouldn’t be so bad now, would it?

Before she could speak a word, though, Oliver beat her to it.  
“So much has happened in that year that I’ve been away,” he sighed and looked down at his hands for a moment, “and sometimes I’m wondering if too much has happened between us, us as friends, I mean. Sometimes I think I never should have went on that trip because every good memory I made immediately turns into crap if it means losing you in the process.”  
Felicity gasped slightly at his honest words. Ever since Oliver had come back, they rarely had the chance to talk, just the two of them. Not that Felicity was looking for such a conversation lately after Oliver found out about her and Dan, but she couldn’t help but realize she missed talking to him very much.  
“I miss being friends with you, Felicity,” he continued, “and I don’t want to miss being friends with you.”

Felicity watched him for a few moments, letting his words sink in before she could think of a reply.  
“Have we ever really been that, Oliver?” she asked him with a soft tone, “Friends? Because usually I feel a little different about my ‘friends’.” she shrugged with a nervous smile.

Her words made Oliver chuckle slightly. She was absolutely right. They haven’t been _just_ friends for a long while now and yet he loved every minute of it.  
“No matter how you call this thing between us,” he chuckled, “I want it back.” he smiled, earning a smile from her in return. “I don’t want to miss what was between us, because it felt too good to ignore it. And I know you felt the same, Felicity.”

At his words, she blushed and swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. She hated to admit it, but Oliver was right. She loved what was between them, and falling asleep in his arms had been the most wonderful thing she’d ever felt, right before he left. But that still didn’t tell her anything about his true intentions with her. Did he just want to keep it like it was before he left? She had no idea if she could do that.  
“I just want you to know that, whenever something happens, you can come to me and talk. Actually, I WANT you to come to me and talk, as selfish as it sounds. I know you’re very close with Thea, but I got the feeling we were just as close, until I left. I miss that. I miss talking to you, not only about problems in our lives but over anything silly. I miss throwing popcorn at you in the movie room and hearing you laugh about it, and I miss not-so-accidentally running into each other on my morning run when you feed the horses. I miss our light conversations at the breakfast table, or even you stealing my shirts so you can sleep in them - yes, I know that!” he grinned and pointed a warning finger at her, making her blush and chuckle slightly.

“I miss that, too.” she confessed shyly. “But it seemed so wrong to do any of that while I was with Dan. Wrong to him, wrong to myself, but most of all wrong to you. I didn’t want to make anyone feel bad or uncomfortable.” she admitted, her eyes staring down into her lap.

Oliver nodded slightly and leaned back in his seat, letting her words sink in.  
“While you WERE with Dan? Past tense?” he suddenly asked, earning a small nod from Felicity.  
“So that’s why you look so terrible right now.”

At his statement, she had no idea how to react. She didn’t want to tell him what had happened, she really didn’t, but not saying anything would have been unfair to him, too.  
“Yeah. But that’s done, and I’m getting over it already.” she told him with a small, albeit forced smile.

Oliver nodded silently. “Are you really okay?”

“I will be.” she smiled and this time, it was a warm, honest one.  
“So… Friends? For now? I really don’t think I should be in another relationship so soon again, not after what happened with Dan. I think some me-time is what I’d need right now. Besides, I still have so much school stuff to do, I wouldn’t have any free time, anyway.” she chuckled gesturing over the piles of papers and books on her desk.

“Friends I can do.” Oliver smiled warmly, making her heart jump a little. She loved seeing him smile like that. “As long as you join me on my morning run at least once a week and we get to watch a movie every now and then, I’m totally fine with that.”

He wanted to put a no-dating-anyone rule out there as well, but was too scared of her reaction. He didn’t have any right to ask her that, but the fact that Felicity stated she needed some time to herself for a while made him hopeful that no other guy would interrupt their friendship in any way. The rest would be like a walk in the park for him and if being friends with Felicity meant being close to her again, as close as they had been before his trip, then he’d surely accept her terms.

With a small smile and a big weight lifted off his shoulders, he got up and headed for the door of her room.

“Oliver?” Felicity suddenly asked him, making him stop and turn within a second, the door handle in hand.  
“Do you think I’m uptight and prudish?” she asked him with a nervous voice and a look so vulnerable, Oliver had no idea where that sudden thought had come from.

“What?? Who said that? That idiot?” he almost snapped, angry that someone would have the guts to call her that.

She nodded sadly, looking down into her lap for a moment, making Oliver cross the room in 3 quick steps.  
“Hey,” he began and kneeled down in front of her, wrapping her hands in his. It had been the first close contact between them since he picked her up from school the day he returned. “Don’t let an idiot like him plant these thoughts in your head, okay? He clearly didn’t know you at all or he wouldn’t have called you uptight and prudish. I know for a fact that you’re not.” he winked with a small grin, making Felicity blush and smile shyly. “There’s nothing wrong with saying ‘No’ when you feel the need to, don’t ever forget that, honey.”

With a soft squeeze of her hands, Oliver got up, kissed her head and left her room, leaving Felicity in a better mood than she could have ever anticipated when he first knocked on her door.

With a newfound determination, Felicity did the first thing that came to her mind - she deleted Dan’s number from her phone and let Raisa know to not let him anywhere near the Mansion again. With both Moira’s and Oliver’s words in the back of her head, she got ready for bed, suddenly feeling a lot better when thinking of her next day at school. Dan wouldn’t make her feel bad tomorrow, and even if he tried, she’d made sure to royally kick his ass.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next Chapter will feature a bit more Thea / Tommy action, as well as Oliver's 23rd birthday. :)


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I'm actually able to post a chapter on time, haha :D  
> Enjoy!

The interactions between Oliver and Felicity quickly returned to the same way it had been before he left. Even Thea noticed that she finally started behaving like he had never really left, but Felicity assured her that it only stemmed from the fact that Oliver had started noticing her again, and not behaving weird like he did when he returned from his trip.

Much to her displeasure, Dan had tried to approach her at school a few times. Felicity had hoped he would just ignore her and let her be, but thanks to Thea, Dan never got the chance to get too close to her or even finish any of the stupid speeches he had prepared for her.  
The first few texts that he’d sent her, trying to apologize for his behavior, she had still read, some of them even showed to Oliver, since he demanded to read them when he spotted Dan’s name lighting up on her phone one afternoon. But after almost one week and more than a dozen texts from him, she just kept deleting them unread. Oliver offered to roughen him up a bit if she’d wanted him to, but Felicity waved him off, assuring him that a guy like Dan wouldn’t be worth the trouble.

Despite the way Dan had treated her and made her feel, Felicity was glad that it had happened the way it did. It helped her immensely to make a clean cut and just go on with her life without having to wonder how she’d feel if things got weird after a breakup. Now, she didn’t feel weird. She just despised Dan for the things he’d said and that he’d had her fooled with his ‘I can do patient’ ruse for so long.  
After a while, he apparently got the hint and avoided her altogether. Felicity still had classes with him and even though she could feel his gaze on her more often than not, she never looked over or acknowledged him. 

 

The weeks passed by and with Oliver’s 23rd birthday around the corner, a fresh breeze of activity waved into the Mansion. Even Tommy had been a more regular guest lately, something Thea very much appreciated. And even though both men had a ton of stuff to work out for their new jobs at their father’s companies, Thea still managed to drag them into the movie room for another one of their chick-flick nights with the men.

“It has been too long since we’ve done a silly movie night with popcorn ice cream.” Thea announced when she pulled a sighing Tommy and her brother into the movie room, followed by a chuckling Felicity who carried the popcorn bowls.

The men both were about to bolt when Thea announced they’d be watching ‘Legally Blonde’, so Thea very reluctantly agreed to let the men pick a movie that night.  
So instead of Legally Blonde, they got to watch, big surprise, ‘Die Hard’.

Since Oliver and Felicity occupied one of the lounge beds together, Thea instantly plopped into the free space next to Tommy. He didn’t seem to mind much, but kept sending nervous glances towards his best friend, who, luckily for him, seemed completely engrossed with the movie and the giggling blonde next to him.

One might say Thea timed the grabs into the popcorn bowl with Tommy’s, not that she would ever admit that. But _casually_ brushing his hand every now and then quickly turned into a favourite game of hers. She could feel Tommy’s hand freeze for a second every time they touched, and it made her proud that she was able to pull such reactions out of him.

Halfway into the movie, Felicity had fallen asleep in Oliver’s arm while he kept stuffing popcorn in his mouth and watched the movie with rapt attention. Sending her brother another quick glance to make sure he wouldn’t be looking over, Thea waited for another action scene before she leaned over to Tommy, snuggling her nose into his chest, inhaling slightly before she whispered into his ear.  
“You smell so good I can’t focus on that damn movie.”  
Tommy’s whole body went completely frozen at that. Thea hadn’t made any move at him at all ever since they returned back from their trip, and he wasn’t sure if he should like it or not. But then again, it wasn’t that he spent much time at the Queen Mansion lately anyway, or got the chance to interact with Thea much. He couldn’t say he didn’t miss it, especially now that she sat so close to him and purred like a cat while she sniffled at his collar.  
“But I still smell way better than you.” she suddenly whispered and almost sent the popcorn bowl in his lap flying when her fingernails lightly scratched along his thigh.

Tommy sent a panicked glance over to the couch next to them and luckily Oliver didn’t seem to have noticed what was going on on the other lounge bed.

“You need to stop that.” Tommy whisper-hissed into her ear and stilled her hand before it could drive him insane.

“Or what?” she chuckled slightly. “It’s not that you can do anything without making my brother notice.” Thea almost purred at him and kept drawing circles with her fingernails on his thigh, even though Tommy kept her hand in a death grip.

The close proximity that the two suddenly were in made him realize Thea hadn’t lied minutes ago.  
“God damn, you smell like fucking cherry pie.” he growled into her ear and grazed her neck lightly with his lips, making her body go rigid.

 _’Two could play that game.’_ he thought to himself with a triumphant grin when he leaned back into the lounge bed, watching Thea take a few deep breaths, keeping her eyes solely on the screen in front of them, even though he knew she wasn’t watching at all. When he let go of her hand he expected her to pull it back and rest it in her lap, with the way she was breathing heavily, trying to calm her racing heart.  
What he didn’t expect, though, was Thea moving her hand farther up his leg and giving his inner thigh a tight squeeze before she removed her hand with a smirk on her lips, knowing she’d shocked him with her movement.

 

The rest of the film went by without another incident between them, but Tommy suddenly found himself a lot closer to her on the couch than in the beginning. As soon as the credits rolled through, Oliver set the popcorn bowl aside and went to gently pick a very dead asleep Felicity up into his arms.  
“I’ll get her to bed.” Oliver whispered to the other two. “Lunch tomorrow at 12?” he asked Tommy, earning a short nod from him.

Without another word, Oliver left the movie room and headed for the bedrooms, leaving Thea and Tommy alone.

Thea immediately got up and started cleaning up the room, emptying the popcorn bowls when Tommy stepped up behind her, so close she could feel his hard body pressed into her back and his breath on her neck.  
“What the hell was that earlier?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Thea replied with an innocent grin when she turned, facing him.

“Oh you don’t? Well then let me enlighten you.” Tommy half growled, half whispered into her ear, his breath ghosting over her skin making her shiver.  
“You smell like fucking pie and cherries and the moment I smelled it, I wanted to lick the taste right off your neck.”  
Thea had to close her eyes and take a deep breath to calm herself at Tommy’s words, coupled with the low timbre that his voice had taken.  
“But being the little minx you are, you had to play nasty with me while your brother was still in the room. Now that he’s gone and it’s just you and me,” he whispered in a seductive tone, keeping his eyes focused on hers, “tell me one thing that should hold me back from doing exactly that.”

For a moment, Thea felt like she’d lose the upper hand in this little game, but quickly regained her foot again. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she leaned even closer to Tommy, played with the open buttons of his shirt and sent him her most seductive look she could muster.  
“Well maybe that’s just what I want, Tommy Merlyn.” she purred before scratching her nails lightly over his exposed chest.

She stared at him as he stared at her lips, and Thea could see he was trying to find a clear thought, or maybe a way to escape. She wouldn’t give him that.  
“Will you kiss me already?” she whispered when Tommy stood there, unmoving, for longer than she was going to accept. Then softly she added, “Please.”

She barely had the chance to finish the sentence when Tommy’s lips crashed on hers. He wasn’t tentative or careful, he was practically devouring her with everything he had. And Thea loved it. She wrapped herself around him, the popcorn bowls in her hand crashing to the ground.

They kept kissing like that, practically making out against the wall of the movie room, until sounds coming from the hallway made Tommy jerk away from her within a second. He just got the chance to put a little distance between them when Raisa entered the room, surprise written all over her face.

“Oh I’m sorry Miss Thea, I saw Mister Oliver in the hallway and came to clean up the room. I didn’t know you were still here. Should I come back later?”

“No it’s alright, Raisa, thank you. I was just going to help Thea to her room and then leave.” Tommy quickly replied and sent Thea a quick glance, letting her know to not say another word. With a slight eyeroll, she left the room, wishing Raisa a good night, closely followed by Tommy.

 

They only made it to the bedroom hallway when Thea started another attack on him.  
“Thea,” he growled with a low voice when she pushed him into the wall and was about to attack his lips again, “I’m not going to play any games with you.”

“Funny,” she laughed annoyingly and took a step back from him, crossing her arms over her chest, “because it felt like you did exactly that before you left.”

“That’s what you think of me? That I’m playing with you? That this is some kind of funny distraction for me?” Tommy did a quick look around the hallway before he dragged her into her room, not giving her time to answer. As soon as he had the door closed behind them, he took a step back from her, trying to keep a little distance so he could keep his head clear.  
“Thea, I never meant to make you feel like that. Everything that happened before that trip... what we did, I have no idea what this is, but I don’t think you’re just some funny, no strings attached distraction every now and then. I like you, I really do, more than appropriate, considering you’re my best friends’ little sister, I might add.”

Thea only rolled her eyes at his words and kept her arms crossed over her chest, waiting for Tommy to finish his speech.

“But let me get this straight, Thea... I don’t care you’re my best friend’s sister, I don’t care you’re a Queen and that I’ve practically seen you running around in diapers. Hell, even if you were the President’s daughter, I’d still want you. But as long as you’re not over the age consent, I’m not going to risk your or my future. It’s just a few more months until your 18th birthday... and then we can figure out whatever that little cat - and - mouse game we’re playing here really means. And how I’m going to tell your brother without getting my nose broken. But until then, I can’t let you jump me like that again in public, especially not in your house’s hallway, where anyone could see us!”

Thea eyed him for a moment before she spoke up again.  
“Fine. But don’t think I’m letting you off the hook. Promising I won’t make a move in public doesn’t mean I’m not going to do it when we’re alone.” she smirked and turned around, pulling off her hoodie when she walked over to her dresser.

Tommy watched her and gulped.  
“What are you doing?”

“Getting ready for bed, you silly.” she grinned over her shoulder and kicked off her sweatpants, revealing a very lacy pair of underwear. “Why? Want to join me?”   
The low growl that followed her comment made her chuckle. She knew exactly what she was doing to him and as long as he didn’t leave the room, she made sure to keep her game up.

“I swear to god, if you aren’t going to be the death of me, then your brother sure will take care of that.” Tommy mumbled and watched Thea undress and slip on her sleep shorts.  
When she emerged from the bathroom a minute later and passed him a little closer than needed, he suddenly grabbed her arm and stopped her.  
“Good night, my little minx.” he whispered before he gave her backside a quick slap and turned on his heel, leaving the room without another glance back.  
That night, Thea fell asleep with a proud smile on her face.

 

A few days later, Felicity took the first chance she got talking to Oliver alone and made her way over to his room. It had been 3 days since they had their movie night and after that, Oliver had been so engrossed with work and exams that he usually came home late in the evening when everyone else was asleep.

But when she saw his car pull up late that evening, she took her chance and went over to his room.

After softly knocking on his door, she peeked her head inside and saw him sitting at his desk. He seemed to be knee deep in work, but still found a warm smile for her as soon as he spotted her at the door.

“Hey there.”

He waved her inside and watched her walk over and take a seat opposite of him at his desk. She was already dressed in her sleep clothes and Oliver couldn’t stop himself, thinking about the last time she’d been in his room dressed like that. The night before he left for one whole year, the night he slept with her wrapped in his arms. Quickly pushing the thoughts aside, he focused on the present, and the blonde beauty sitting in front of him.  
“What’s up?”

“Look,” she began and nervously fidgeted with her fingers in her lap, “I wanted to apologize.”

“For what?” he asked her, his brows furrowed. He couldn’t remember Felicity having done anything that required an apology to him.

“For a few things, actually.”

“I really don’t know what you should be apologizing for.” he replied, motioning for her to have a seat.

“Well, for one, I’m sorry for not telling you about Dan sooner. I should have been the one to tell you and I’m sorry I did not.”  
When Oliver was about to say something, she interrupted him with a raised hand. “Just... let me finish this, please, before you say something. I have laid it out in my head all day and I’m afraid I might forget half of it once you start talking.” she laughed nervously.

With a small chuckle, Oliver motioned for her to go on.  
“And I’m sorry for acting like a bitch, half of the time you’ve been away. I was so caught up in my own sorrow and pain that I almost ruined the friendship between us. I’m sorry I ignored you every time you wanted to get in touch with me, I shouldn’t have done that.”

With a small sigh, she continued. “Actually, I shouldn’t have done a lot of things in the last few weeks, mainly treating you like that. It wasn’t right of me to expect you to to like and just accept everything that was going on when you came back and I’m sorry I was so closed off all the time. That wasn’t really... mature of me.”

Oliver looked at her for a few moments, wondering if she still had more to say. When nothing else came out of her though, he gave her a small smile.  
“Can I speak now?”

With a nervous smile into her lap, she nodded.  
“Okay, first of all... you don’t have to apologize for anything, Felicity. Sure, it didn’t sit right with me, seeing you with that guy just days after I got back here. And it sure bombarded the plans I had for us when I saw you with him. But that doesn’t change the fact that you don’t owe me an explanation, or even an apology. We weren’t in a relationship when I left, and you’re a free person.”

Felicity didn’t smile at his words, she just sat in her chair and listened to what he had to say, unable to even think of a reply.

“But I appreciate that you feel the need to come here and tell me now, I really do. So of course, apologies accepted.” he smiled at her and could see the weight lift off Felicity’s shoulders at his words.

“So... what happened between Dan and you?”

She really hadn’t thought Oliver would still spare Dan any thought, given it had been almost 2 weeks since she’d received the last text message from him. Oliver had never pressured her to talk about it, and honestly, she was glad about that. Thea didn’t ask any more questions either, but then again, she already knew what had happened. Oliver didn’t know, and most of the time Felicity thought he didn’t care about it either, only that Dan was finally out of the picture again. At least he was a lot more the Oliver she knew and liked before he went on his trip, not the grumpy, angry one she got to meet once he found out about her boyfriend.  
So hearing him ask about Dan really surprised her.

“Uhm,” she began, struggling to find the right words, “let’s just say his thought of ‘relationship progress’ differed a little from mine.” she shrugged.

“Wait, does that mean he tried to talk you into something you didn’t want? Did he force you into anything?”

Felicity didn’t miss the way his back straightened at his words or how his hands gripped the handles of his chair so tightly his knuckles turned white.  
She didn’t want to see him so upset, especially not over something so stupid like Dan Brockman.  
“He just tried to convince me to move things a little faster than I wanted to. I kicked him out right after. It’s just that his words at me stung quite a bit, and I was mad at myself for not seeing things clearer, sooner.” she shrugged. “It really is no big deal, Oliver. Not anymore.” she smiled at him.

“I still want to roughen him up.” Oliver mumbled, more to himself, but it still made Felicity laugh slightly.

“He’s not worth the effort. And to be honest, I don’t want to drive to the police office and pick you up after you got arrested.” Felicity chuckled.

“And since we’re dropping the truth bombs right now,” she spoke up, her voice suddenly sounding nervous, her eyes cast downwards. Oliver watched her closely while she spoke, curious what she might be up to. “I know it’s not my right to expect you to answer this, but the truth is, this question has been on my mind for weeks now, months, maybe.” She fidgeted with the hem of her shirt while she spoke, clearly nervous to continue.

“What is it?”

“Have you been with someone while you were on your trip?” she suddenly blurted out so fast, for a moment Oliver wasn’t sure if he’d heard her right.  
“I just - I just want to know. Not that I would judge you, or could. I just want to be able to finally answer that question in my head. I hate mysteries. They bug me.” she laughed shyly, too nervous to look him in the eye and wait for an answer.

For a long moment, Oliver had no idea what to say. Did she really expected him to hook up with a few women on that trip? Part of him wanted to scream at her for how dumb that question was, that he couldn’t even think of being with anyone because she was on his mind more often than not. But he knew he couldn’t tell her that, at least not so bluntly. She had asked him for a little distance, and freaking her out was the last thing he wanted to do right now. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t answer her question honestly.

“I haven’t been with anyone.” he smiled. “And for the future, if something is bothering you, don’t wait so long to ask me, okay?”

With a shy smile and a nod, Felicity got up from the couch and motioned for the door.  
“I better get going. It’s movie night with Thea and since she gets to pick tonight, I need to hide a few DVDs first.”

“Alright.” he laughed. When Felicity was about to open the door, his voice stopped her, though. “Tomorrow morning at 7? I wanted to break in my new running shoes. Well... unless you have somewhere else to be.” he quickly added.

“Tomorrow at 7 sounds great. Goodnight, Oliver.” she smiled and before he could blink, she was gone, softly closing the door behind her.

 

The next morning, Oliver was up even earlier than usual. The fact that Felicity had agreed to go on a morning run with him, for the first time in over a year, made him wake up so full of energy he had to stop himself from rushing over to her room and pull her out of bed.

At 7am sharp, the door to Felicity’s room opened and a blonde dressed in compression pants and a tank top stepped out, tying her hair in a high ponytail while she sent him a smile. She smelled like pineapples and coconut and Oliver realized that being so close to her, so early in the morning, dressed in tight running gear, might not be the smartest idea he’d had in a while.

“Ready?” he whispered.

Felicity nodded and motioned for him to lead the way.

They warmed up in silence, but neither felt uncomfortable. It had been a while since both were able to spend some time together alone, just the two of them and Oliver loved that Felicity didn’t seem to feel nervous or awkward around him.

“Lead the way, Mr. Queen.” Felicity smiled and waved down the path leading away from the mansion, along the stables and into the woods. Oliver started jogging and Felicity quickly fell in pace with him.

It didn’t take him long to realize she had gotten faster than before and had a much better condition than the first time they’d tried running together, when Felicity felt like she’d die after only 3 miles.  
“Wow, you’ve gotten fast, young lady.” he breathed out

“Yep,” she smiled proudly, “I’ve been working out.”

“Oh, I noticed.” Oliver mumbled and fell two steps back behind her so he could admire the view for a moment. Not that he never checked her out at the mansion or whenever she passed him, but seeing her body in motion now, in tight running pants, at that... yeah, he definitely shamelessly checked her out for as long as he could.

“We should do that more often.” she told him between breaths when they arrived back at the mansion. “I haven’t had much time to work out lately. It’s refreshing.”

Of course Oliver was on board with that. He wasn’t one to argue with her if it meant being able to spend some time with her alone.

 

After agreeing to try and find time to run together at least once a week, they parted ways as soon as they reached the hallway. With a smile on her lips, even after one hour of running around the outskirts of the Queen property, Felicity hopped under the shower and got ready to start her day. Unsurprisingly, Oliver sported the same smile throughout most of the day, something that didn't go unnoticed by his best friend during lunch.

“Based on the grin plastered on your face I take it you saw Felicity this morning? Or did your father already gave you a raise?” Tommy grinned when both men grabbed a table and dived into their food.

“We went running this morning. Plan to do that together at least once a week now.” Oliver nodded with a content smile on his lips. The fact that he got to spend an hour with Felicity that morning, just with her, and the fact that they already agreed to do that regularly, gave him an energy boost that even helped him through his first dispute with his father that morning. Nothing could ruin his mood that day, and Oliver already made a mental note to thank Felicity for it later.

“And you think that’ll help you with your... ‘problem’?” Tommy replied with a slightly cocked eyebrow, earning a hard stare from Oliver.

“I try not to think about that and it’d help a lot if you did so, too. The less I talk about it, the less I think about it.” Oliver replied matter of factly.

“That’s bullshit, buddy, and you know it.”

“Yeah, but it’s the only way it’s going to be because for once I’m going to respect Felicity’s wishes and won’t fuck this up.”

Tommy didn’t have anything to add to that. Of course he still called it bullshit, but to some extend, he could understand Oliver’s motivations. Over the course of two years he had seen his best friend pass various stages of happiness, anger and hurt in the friendship with Felicity. Coupled with the things he knew about Oliver’s feelings, and the fact that he didn’t even look at other women for more than 12 months now, Tommy could only imagine how deeply his friend cared for Felicity. He had hurt her in the past - and regretted it deeply, so of course Oliver wouldn’t want to make this mistake again.  
But that still didn’t change the fact that ‘staying friends’ definitely wasn’t the way to go for these two. And he knew Oliver knew that, too.

 

\---------------------------------

 

Oliver’s 23rd birthday was on a friday. Not that Felicity knew that for months already. She didn’t. Well, she did, but only because it made planning for his surprise so easy. Having a birthday on the weekend somehow always made things easier, at least when it came to planning things.

After having spent all day and afternoon out in the city, the house seemed almost deserted when Felicity returned. Only Thea could be heard upstairs and Raisa seemed to be working her magic somewhere in the kitchen. Felicity didn’t have time for chit-chats, though. She quickly made her way upstairs and slipped into her room.

 

“Thea?” Felicity practically yelled into the adjoining room, waiting for a reply from her friend while she rummaged through her closet like the devil himself had taken possession of her.

“What is it?” Thea shot back and walked over to the open door, seeing Felicity digging through a pile of clothes in her closet. “And what the hell are you doing?”

“I’m looking for the purple dress I bought after christmas.” Felicity announced with a sigh, puffing a loose strand of hair out of her face. “And before you ask any more questions, I expect you to be dressed up and ready to **wow** by 8.30, sharp. I got something planned and no, I won’t tell you because you’re the world’s biggest chatterbox and would ruin my surprise.” she told her friend with a pointed finger. “Dress formally.”

Thea raised an eyebrow. “Alright, no questions, except this... You mean like Gala - formally? What have you planned? Dragging me to some pop art gala of some new super hyped artist because you found a sudden interest in abstract art?”

“No, smartass,” Felicity replied and threw a shirt in her direction. “I hate art, and you know that. Let’s just say you should dress up... dinner - formally, if that makes any sense.”

“I can work with that.” Thea grinned with a nod and quickly checked her watch. “8.30? That leaves me with 2 hours... hm, too less to buy anything new, but I’m sure one of our closets will hold something I could wear.” With a newfound determination on her face, Thea slipped back into her room and went looking for a nice dress herself.

 

“Found your purple dress, Fee!” Thea’s voice yelled after 5 minutes of silence.

“How the hell did it end up in YOUR closet?” Felicity shot back and dashed over to Thea’s room.

“I kind of... borrowed it a while ago?” she grinned shyly with a shrug and handed her friend the hanger. Ducking away making a beeline for the bathroom, Thea fled the growls and glares that Felicity was about to shoot her.

 

Since Felicity still had some things to manage before 8.30, she showered in record time, threw in the heat rollers into her hair and covered herself with a bathrobe before making her way over to Oliver’s room.

She didn’t hear a sound coming from his room, not even after two soft knocks on his door. She knew he was still home, though, since she’d heard him and Tommy in the foyer minutes ago, talking to Raisa. Deciding to just slip inside and leave him a note, letting him know to _wait, formally dressed, at the front door, accompanied by Tommy, please_ , Felicity quickly ducked back into her room to finish hair and makeup. It was only 7.45, leaving the men enough time to get ready. She always hated how little time it took Oliver to look so over the top handsome whereas she needed at least two hours to look equally good.

 

Minutes before the clock turned 8.30, Thea came down the stairs, dressed in a floor length navy blue dress, her brown locks loosely pinned back.

“Are you going to tell me what you have planned now, Fee? I’ve never seen you so... secretive before.” Thea asked when she joined her friend in the foyer, spotting one of their drivers outside waiting for them next to their car.

Felicity quickly checked the clock on her phone before stuffing it in her clutch again.  
8.31. The note she had left for Oliver explicitly stated 8.30pm sharp, and not a minute later. So the men could really show up any time soon please, thank you very much.

“I made reservations at Giacomo’s for Oliver’s birthday. Just him, Tommy, you and me. It’s a surprise and he has no idea, so please -” she spoke silently and made a locking motion around her lips, throwing the invisible key over her shoulders, earning a pair of wide green eyes from her best friend.

“How the hell did you get a reservation at Giacomo’s? On a friday, at that? Not even Mom’s PA was able to get a table there within the next 3 months...“ Thea whispered back in total awe.

“Well let’s just say it took me a while.” Felicity winked and checked her phone again, “and if they don’t hurry up I’m afraid the reservation will be the only thing I managed to grab there.” she sighed.

“Oh my, you beautiful Ladies,” Raisa suddenly announced when she rounded the living room and saw the girls standing there. “you both look so fantastic. What is the occasion?” she smiled and took appreciative glances over the girls’ dresses.

“Felicity made a surprise reservation at Starling’s hottest restaurant for Oliver’s birthday.” Thea proudly announced with a grin, winking at her friend before seeing Raisa’s smile fall into a frown.

“Oh my, Mister Tommy picked up Mister Oliver a while ago. I believe Mister Tommy said something about a birthday celebration in town.”

Thea sent Felicity a shocked look, seeing her friend’s face fall at Raisa’s announcement.  
That clearly wasn’t what Felicity wanted to hear. Raisa sent her an apologetic smile, offering to try and call Tommy and Oliver to make them come back, but Felicity waved her off, masking her frown with a fake smile.

“No, it’s okay. Of course I should have expected him to be out on his birthday, at a friday, at that.” she shrugged with a forced smile, bending to take her heels off already. “Let’s just cancel the night and all is good. It’s really no big deal.”

“To hell it isn’t.” Thea almost snapped back, stopping Felicity dead in her tracks. “You know what? The table’s booked, the driver’s waiting and we both look killer gorgeous... we’re going to Giacomo’s now and we’re going to have a hell of a night, men or no men accompanying us.” she firmly announced, looped an arm around Felicity and practically dragged her out the door. “Besides, I didn’t spend one hour getting my hair curled and pinned up to sit on a couch all night. And if I tell mom we let a reservation at Starling City’s most sought after Italian Restaurant slip, she’ll probably strangle us both. So... girls night it is. Formal edition.” Thea grinned and took a seat next to Felicity while the driver steered the car away from the mansion.

 

Deciding to have dinner alone, just the two of them, the girls tried to make the best out of it and much to Felicity’s surprise, the evening went not only smoothly but downright funny. The moment they entered the restaurant, several pairs of eyes lingered on them. Felicity felt a little out of place, dressed so formally but not being accompanied by a man, but Thea quickly looped her arm around hers and gave her no time to overthink anything when she dragged her through the crowded restaurant, following the maitre’d.

All evening, the waiter kept flirting with both women, telling them their men were just blinded by their beauty and couldn’t join them because they couldn’t find their sunshades, while the chef himself came out of the kitchen several times, serving the girls little creations of food he had prepared just for them. Both women kept laughing and giggling over the fun and attention they received from the restaurant staff, lifting the mood for both girls in an instant.

 

When Thea excused herself to the bathroom right after dessert, Felicity took the moment to head out to the panorama deck, overlooking the harbor and downtown of Starling City.

Maybe she really read too much into it, maybe Oliver still didn’t want more than the friendly, sometimes even a little intimately-friendly banter between them, but nothing beyond that. Otherwise, wouldn’t he have spent the evening of his birthday with her instead of some college friends he rarely ever saw these days? Sure, she should have told him sooner and she couldn’t expect him to sit at home alone all evening, especially not on his birthday. But still it hurt that yet another chance of spending time with Oliver, away from prying eyes and watchful parents, went down the drain. But then again, it had been her telling him to stay friends only after that situation with Dan, so who could she blame other than herself?  
With a small sigh, Felicity closed her eyes, gripped the metal railing tighter and let the wind blow through her hair and dress for a moment, taking away all heavy thoughts.

 

When Thea returned from the bathroom and found the table empty, she panicked for a moment, thinking Felicity had decided to make a run for it and hide in her room, like she had originally planned to do after Raisa told them Tommy had picked Oliver up already and went to a party with him. As soon as she spotted her friend on the outer deck though, her shoulders relaxed again. Felicity seemed to watch the night lights of Starling, but Thea could see that her friend wasn’t paying much attention to the scenery but seemed deep in thoughts instead.

Yet again it had been her brother hurting her best friend, this time maybe unintentionally, but the outcome was still the same. Deciding to feed her brother some of his own medicine, and hopefully shake him awake a little, she quickly pulled out her phone and took a few pics of Felicity on the outer deck. The way the wind blew off her floor length gown and the loose curls of her hair, coupled with her lost stare over the city and the colorful city lights in the background, almost made her look like a supermodel in front of the perfect scenery.

 _‘What you’re missing out on 2nite. But worry not mate, she found the perfect replacement-company since you’re too busy partying with McMagician. ;)’_ Thea quickly typed down, added the photo that captured Felicity’s beauty the best but still showed it was clearly her, and sent the message off to her brother before stuffing the phone back in her purse and joining Felicity outside on the deck.

It took Oliver all of 2 minutes to reply. At least he had the decency to answer her instead of calling Felicity directly, something Thea would have totally expected from him.

_‘What the hell are you talking about?? And why is Felicity dressed up like that? Where are you?’_

Thea rolled her eyes at his snappy tone, even through text message. Typical Oliver.

Even though she kept Felicity in a light conversation about summer break and possible vacation plans, her friend was still staring over the skyline of the city and didn’t seem to notice Thea texting her brother. Deciding to send Oliver one final message before shutting her phone off, Thea typed a quick response.

_‘Fee and I are at Giacomo’s. The beautiful angel in the purple dress made a reservation to surprise you with a sweet birthday dinner; just you, her, Tommy and me. But since you seem to prefer bottle service and questionable chicks in inappropriate dresses for your birthday, we spend the evening here alone. The Tagliatelle was fantastic, btw. Doubt you can say the same about the cheap booze they’re serving in whatever rat hole you’re partying right now.’_

 

Even though Felicity was about to protest and tell they weren’t old enough to drink yet, Thea convinced her to empty the bottle of wine the restaurant chef had insisted they receive on the house. They were on their second glass, the waiter bringing them yet another ‘creation _d’chef’_ , when suddenly the restaurant doors opened and a slightly distressed looking Oliver walked inside. Felicity froze on the spot, but not before sending Thea an evil glare. Oliver couldn’t know they were here, unless Thea told him. Which she obviously had done.

Thea looked equally surprised as Felicity when Oliver stopped right in front of the table and took in the scene in front of him. Up until that moment he wasn’t sure what to think of his sister’s text messages, even though the photo of Felicity showed her dressed to the nines and clearly somewhere out in the city. And even though he was very thankful for Tommy throwing him a birthday party at Verdant, he couldn’t deny that he would have loved to spend the evening just with his family and closest friends just as much. So when he received the second text from his sister, telling him they were at Giacomo’s, while Tommy was about to order bottle service for the nth time, Oliver took him aside and announced the change of plans. He needed to go to Giacomo’s and see if he could still catch them, if they were really there. And since the restaurant wasn’t too far away from the club, Tommy agreed to let him go, but not before promising to come back later, no matter what.

So that’s why he found himself at Giacomo’s, right in front of a large round table, currently occupied by two beautiful looking young ladies that stared at him with wide eyes.

“Oliver,” Felicity rasped out after the clink of Thea’s fork hitting the plate pulled her out of her stares. “Wha - what are you doing here?”

“Missing a great evening, it seems.” he replied, the distress on his face vanishing instantly the moment Felicity got up from her chair and took a step closer to him.

“Happy birthday.” she told him with a shy smile before wrapping her arms around his broad shoulders. It took him a second to realize what was happening but as soon as it did, Oliver returned the hug and pulled her closer into his chest, inhaling the fruity scent of her perfume. He could feel her heart beating like a drum through the thin barriers of his shirt and her dress, and the fact that she made no move to loosen the hug made him smile.  
He loved that they’d gone back to being such close friends again, but it had been a while since he had her in his arms like that, so he made sure to make the best of every second.  
“Thank you.” he mumbled into her neck, not willing to let go of her just yet. “You look absolutely beautiful.”

With a shy smile and a blush on her cheeks Felicity loosened her grip on his shoulders and took a step back. Oliver instantly missed the warmth of her body on his chest.  
“I’m sorry I ruined your surprise. If -”

“You didn’t ruin it, Oliver.” Felicity quickly cut him off. “I should have told you earlier, that’s all. Or maybe coordinate things with Tommy, I don’t know. But you clearly don’t have anything to feel sorry for.” she told him with a firm voice, but Oliver could see she had trouble keeping the sadness out of her face.

“Except missing a great night with two gorgeous looking women.” Oliver replied and did a quick look over the table. “Which is why you’ll come with me now. Just give me a minute and I’ll take care of the bill and we can head out.” Oliver announced, making both women’s heads snap up in surprise.

“Oh the hell you will, Queen!” Felicity told him so fiercely, even Thea had to look at her best friend for a moment. “This is your birthday, what kind of friend would I be if I’d let you take care of the bill? For a meal you didn’t even eat? For a surprise dinner that I’ve had planned, at that?”

Oliver and Thea watched her down the half filled wine glass in one long gulp before she grabbed her clutch from the chair. “I’ll be back in a minute.” And with that, she was gone, leaving him alone with his sister.

 

“Thank you for texting me.” Oliver told his sister when he helped her into the coat.

“You’re welcome. I didn’t think you’d really show up here, though.”

“There’s no way in hell I’d have missed seeing her in that dress, Speedy. You look lovely, too, by the way.” Oliver smiled and grabbed Felicity’s coat from the hanger.

“My my,” Thea grinned back, “did my brother finally turn into a charming sap on his 23rd birthday?”

“Oh shut up!” he laughed.

When Felicity returned from the bar a minute later, Oliver helped her into her coat and led both women to the waiting car in front of the restaurant.

“So, where are we going?” Thea asked when everyone was seated and the limo started moving.

“Well, since Tommy had this party - thing planned for my birthday and it’s barely 11pm, we’re going to head there now. I’ll be the talk of the party entering the club with not only one, but two drop dead gorgeous looking women at my arms.” Oliver grinned and leaned back into the seat.

“Aren’t we a little overdressed for a club?” Felicity piped in, gesturing down her long dress.

“You look perfect just the way you are.” Oliver smiled, making her blush once again.

 

The moment they pulled up at Verdant and Oliver hopped out of the car to round it and help both women out, Felicity took the few seconds to grab Thea’s arm.  
“Do you think this is a good idea? I mean, look at us. It’s like wearing a tux to a heavy metal concert!”

“Relax, Fee.” Thea assured her with a laugh. “Ollie said we’re looking good and besides... we both get to spend some time with our men. I won’t complain one bit.” she grinned and patted her best friends leg just the moment Oliver opened the door and offered them both a hand.

 

Felicity felt a little out of place in her very formal looking floor length gown the moment she saw the first club-goers enter Verdant, but when Oliver grabbed her hand and hooped it through his arm, she willed herself to relax a bit. Of course there would be no dancing tonight, and she’d have to be careful no one would step on her dress, but other than that, she should be fine.

Oliver guided them to a large lounge area on the VIP floor, shaking hands and being pulled in hugs from tons of people on their way there. Felicity always wanted to politely step away and give him space to accept his birthday wishes, but Oliver never let go of her arm, always keeping her as close to him as he could.  
Thea followed close by, greeting a few people herself on the way. The moment they stepped up to the lounge area though, her breath stocked when she saw Tommy sitting there, dressed in a suit, the top buttons open, drink in hand. He seemed to be engaged in a conversation with some guy Thea had never seen before, but when Oliver took a few steps closer and Tommy turned his head, his eyes lit up.

“Damn, Ladies!” he loudly announced with a whistle and was up on his feet within a second. “I suddenly feel completely under-dressed!” he laughed and pulled first Thea, then Felicity into a hug. “Where did the birthday boy find you two, dressed like you’re ready to hit the stage for the Miss Universe contest?” Tommy asked and took in both girls’ dresses once more.

“At Giacomo’s,” Thea replied and grinned proudly when she saw Tommy’s eyes go wide. “where our lovely Felicity here,” she added, turning and waving a hand in Felicity’s direction, “managed to snag a table for an incredible birthday dinner tonight. But then a certain someone decided to drag the birthday boy away before she could tell him.” she told him with a cocked eyebrow, making it very clear she was talking about him.

“Did I hear that right? Did you just say Felicity reserved a table at Giacomo’s?” he replied, clearly impressed.

“Yes, you did.” Thea shot back before taking a seat on the large couch. “And you’re the one who ruined it.”

“Oh shut up,” Felicity smacked her arm, “no one did ruin anything.”

“Wow,” Tommy mumbled and slid in next to Thea, making space for Oliver and Felicity to sit as well, “I really need to up my game if that’s what you come up with as if it’s no big deal.”

Oliver laughed out loud before he grabbed a glass for Felicity, pouring her a drink from the bottles on the table.

“Well, if you hadn’t dragged Oliver away from the mansion so early he would have read the note that I left him, saying I expected you - both of you, I might add - ready to leave at 8.30pm.” Felicity shrugged, but made sure to send Tommy at least a half accusing look.

Tommy quickly took in Thea’s and then Felicity’s dress situation when something dawned upon him.  
“Is that why you two are dressed up so fancy? Was that a birthday dinner for just the 4 of us or something?” he asked, motioning at everyone while he spoke.

“Yeah it was, and it’s a damn shame you missed the ahhh-mazing food.” Thea grinned and patted him on the knee. “The chef himself even served us some amuse-gueules. I think he kind of had a crush on us.”

“Or he pitied us because we looked so over the top but didn’t have anyone accompany us.” Felicity shot in, instantly regretting her words when she saw the frowns on Oliver’s and Tommy’s faces.

“Nonsense, no one pities us. That’s all envy.” Thea told her with a firm nod, making it clear that she didn’t want to hear any more doubts from her best friend.

 

For the rest of the night, more friends came and left the large table they were sitting at, but Oliver always stayed close to Felicity’s sight. Only the occasional rounds to shake hands and have a shot here and there made him leave her for a few minutes. Thea even managed to dance in her long dress, not-so-gracefully balling the flowy skirt of her dress in one hand so no one would step on it, while the other hand grabbed Tommy’s arm - purely for support, of course. Thea didn’t seem to care that Oliver could spot them and even though Tommy seemed a bit nervous about the whole public closeness, Oliver didn’t seem to notice.

At some point during the night, even Felicity found herself on the dancefloor, albeit in a lot less crowded area. She had no idea how he did it, but somehow Oliver managed to drag her onto the dancefloor, wrapping her in his arms, swaying to the music. If it hadn’t been for the dance music filling the club, the situation between them could have been almost too intimate, and much to Felicity’s relief, no one seemed to notice or even spare them a second glance.

“Thank you.” Oliver suddenly whispered in her ear, and the moment his lips grazed her neck, her entire body froze for a moment.  
It took her a few seconds to gather her thoughts again and remember where they were and that Oliver had just said something.

“For what?” she asked him with a slightly shaky voice.

“For what you did tonight. I’m sorry it didn’t exactly go as planned, though.”

He was right, the evening sure didn’t go as planned, but given their current proximity, Felicity wasn’t one to complain. Plus, she had a great dinner with her best friend at Starling City’s hottest restaurant.  
“Well, we’re here together, dancing right now. I think it’s safe to say my night could have ended worse.” she laughed slightly.

 

The night ended around 3am, when Thea fell asleep on the couch in the VIP area, snuggling into Tommy’s thigh in the process. As soon as Oliver saw his sister half lying on the couch, her head resting on Tommy’s leg, her heels long kicked off on the couch behind her, he decided to call it a night. He expected Tommy to protest and ask him to stay a little longer since it as his birthday, but much to his surprise, his friend immediately agreed and went to pick up the sleepy brunette from the couch. Oliver said his last goodbyes while Felicity took care of Thea’s heels and purse and followed them out of the club and into the waiting limo.

As soon as everyone was seated and the limo started to head home, Felicity also kicked off her heels, letting out a sigh in the process. She loved her black peeptoes, she really did, but after walking around and dancing in them for well over 6 hours, she felt the desire to just throw them out of the window.  
Much to her surprise, Oliver instantly pulled her feet into his lap and started kneading and massaging the balls of her feet, making her sigh even more.  
Seconds before she closed her eyes and let Oliver work his magic on her sore feet, she did a quick look through the limo. To an outsider, it would have looked like the perfect ending of two very - in - love couples having a great night together. Tommy still had the sleeping Thea cradled in his lap and some time between leaving the club and getting into the limo Thea must had wrapped her arms around his neck, not that he seemed to mind. Surprisingly, neither did Oliver, but then again he seemed so engrossed with her feet and the reactions he could pull out of her when he kneaded certain areas of her sole, that he didn’t even seem to notice his little sister and his best friend being so close together.  
With a content smile on her lips, Felicity rested her head into the seat and closed her eyes. As it turned out, the evening couldn’t have ended any better than this and she definitely had to thank Thea later. Not only for dragging her to the restaurant but for telling Oliver they were there, too.

 

The moment Oliver pulled her in his arms and carried her up the steps to the mansion, Felicity stirred awake. Through half closed eyes she could spot Tommy carry Thea up the stairs in front of them. Looking up, she saw Oliver smile down at her.  
“Go back to sleep, sweetheart. We’re home.”

With a smile on her lips, Felicity did just that. She didn’t even care where he carried her; she just enjoyed the closeness and warmth radiating from Oliver, her Oliver, before she let sleep overtake her again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up, Felicity's 18th birthday! :)


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry, but I had to split up Felicity's birthday party in two Chapters. There's a very impotant scene happening later and I didn't want to split that up in two Chapters.  
> With everything posted in one Chapter it would have turned out to be a 22k word - monster, and I certainly couldn't post all that in one Chapter either! :D  
> So here's Part 1 of Felicity's birthday party!
> 
> The next Chapter should be up in about a week. :)  
> For now, enjoy!

Oliver and Felicity’s weekly morning runs soon turned into bi-weekly runs, and soon after that, they ran almost every morning together. When Felicity asked him one time if his work schedule wouldn’t get affected by it, he quickly assured her that Robert couldn’t care less if he showed up at the office around 9 or 10, as long as he got his work done by 4pm. Felicity could hear the hint of distress in his voice while he spoke but decided to not ask him about it and possibly ruin their relaxed morning together.

They had been talking about everything and nothing during their runs, but most of the time it was Felicity babbling about school and her upcoming summer projects and Oliver silently listened, more often than not wondering how in the world she had the breath to talk so much while running.

Thea had been a moping mess for a few days after Tommy announced his father expected his presence on a business trip to India for two weeks. Even Oliver noticed his little sister had been more on edge for a few days than she normally was.  
“Do you know what’s up with her?” Oliver asked when they jogged back to the mansion, making a stop at the stables so Felicity could feed the horses.

 _Sure, your best friend left for two weeks and she’s lovesick._ “No idea.” Felicity lied and tried to put up her best poker face. Oliver could read her too well and she couldn’t risk exposing Thea’s feelings towards Tommy to anyone, especially not to Oliver. “Maybe she’s just having a few cranky days.” she shrugged and patted Castiel’s nose before they both headed back up to the mansion.

Thankfully, Tommy was due to return back in two days, because even Felicity felt slightly annoyed by Thea’s sulky, mopey behavior. It was really getting out of hand lately, but for some reason, Thea always waved her off when Felicity asked about it. And since Thea had to endure a similar Felicity when Oliver and Tommy had been out of country the first few weeks, she decided not to say anything to her friend. After all, she knew all too well how Thea felt right at that moment.

 

\-------------------------------

 

A few weeks before Felicity’s 18th birthday, Oliver could feel the shift in her behavior.  
Everything she’d done to that point in their friendship slash relationship was subtle, always sweet and shy.  
But at some point lately, that behavior had changed. The things she did now weren’t so subtle any more, and she even seemed a bit more risky than before. Where she was all about keeping secrets and only getting close to him when no one else was in the room except for Tommy or Thea, she now openly sought out his closeness, wrapped herself around his arm more often than not and even pinched or slapped his butt every now and then when they passed each other in the mansion. Oliver had no idea where that sudden change of behavior came from, not that he did mind, but it made him wonder nonetheless.

 

“Man, is Felicity getting hotter the older she gets, or is it just that new bikini?” Tommy spoke from the lounge bed next to Oliver, pulling his best friend out of his thoughts before he sent Tommy a hard stare.  
“Chill out, I told you several times she’s like a little sister to me.” he defended himself.

“It’s driving me insane, Tommy.” Oliver sighed when he leaned back into his lounger, rubbing his face with his palms.

“Well, even at the risk of repeating myself… finally go for it!”

“I don’t know, man…” he sighed, “this friendship thing between us is better than it has ever been. I don’t want to ruin that. We’ve been there before, it wasn’t pretty. So I think I’ll let it stay just the way it is right now.”

“And risk dying from blue balls? Doesn’t sound too pleasurable if you’d ask me.” Tommy snorted. “Besides, the way she prances around you all the time tells me she wants more as well.”

Tommy’s words made Oliver’s head snap up. “You see that, too? I was sure I was only seeing it because it affected me so much.”

“Oh, trust me,” Tommy laughed, “I do see it. It’s so obvious. She’s like a goddamn cougar and you’re her prey. Sometimes I envy you, but most of the time I’m just happy I’m not in your place.” he snickered, bumping Oliver’s shoulder in the process. “I have no idea how you do it.”

“I don’t, either.” he grumbled and watched the girls in the pool, both engaged in a serious pool noodle fight. “Last week she was wearing a freaking g-string bikini when we sat in the tub. I didn’t know until she stepped out and bent to grab a towel. I almost came in my shorts, like some goddamn teenager.” he sighed, earning another heartfelt laugh from his best friend.

“Maybe she’s trying to send you signals to move things further?” Tommy offered after taking a sip of his beer.

“Or she’s just getting older and enjoys teasing around.” he sighed.

Tommy watched his best friend watching Felicity in the pool for a moment.  
“You need to get laid, that’s all.” he said and handed Oliver another beer. “Unless you’re keeping secrets from me now it’s been what... 1 year?”

“That’s the thing… there isn’t one single woman I’m interested in.”

“Besides her.” Tommy replied and motioned to Felicity leaving the pool.

“Besides her.” Oliver sighed and let out a feral growl when he saw Felicity bending over the lounge bed, firmly presenting him her backside when she grabbed her towel. Tommy couldn’t help but laugh even more at the scene that had been unfolding in front of him, but he couldn’t say that he felt any better than his best friend.  
He was almost 100% sure that Felicity’s sudden streak of confidence stemmed from no other than her best friend, the lovely young lady who did just the same to him like Felicity was doing to Oliver right now. With the only difference that Thea didn’t suddenly start to act that way, she had been like this from day one.  
So all in all one could say that Tommy Merlyn was suffering even more than Oliver Queen. Especially considering the fact that he couldn’t talk to his best friend so openly about this ‘problem’, unless he wanted to risk a broken nose and probably equally broken friendship.

“Well her birthday is coming up soon... any plans to change your behavior towards her after that? I mean, since you’re not stepping into any legal potholes any longer...” Tommy offered with a shrug.

“I’m not going to change anything at all. Like I said, the friendship we have right now is better than anything we’ve ever had before. I’m not going to jeopardize that again only because she’s above the age consent in two weeks.”

“But you do know that this can’t go on forever, right?” Tommy shot back, giving his best friend a look over his sunglasses.

Of course Oliver knew that. He knew that all too well, since it had been on the front of his mind for quite a while now. Despite the fact that the friendship between him and Felicity was better than it could ever be, and she seemed to enjoy the situation between them very much, Oliver knew the situation wasn’t ideal, at least not for him.

Of course he wanted more, and with her 18th birthday fast approaching, at least the legal aspect wouldn’t be an issue any longer then. But the more the thoughts about legality vanished, the more doubts about his family surfaced. Would Moira and Robert ever approve of that relationship?

It wasn’t that he was worried about himself, or maybe his reputation; he knew all too well how much his parents disapproved each and every single one of his past girlfriends, not that he ever cared about that.  
He was actually worried about Felicity and the fact that his parents could believe _he_ might be a bad influence for her, or maybe he’d hold her back in pursuing the ‘great future’ they were always promising her.  
Robert had told him often enough that he wished Oliver had Tommy’s morals and work ethics, not that he had any idea what his father was talking about. Tommy partied just as hard as he did, and he even disliked working for his father just as much as Oliver. So Robert was either too blind to see the real Tommy, or he just wanted to hurt his son. Either way, Oliver never let it get to him too much, but the fact that Felicity could be affected by it made him worry.  
He wanted her to be able to have the best future possible but still be with her - but he still had no idea how to make this work.

 

“It’s my birthday next week.” Felicity told him with a sing-sang voice while rounding the desk in his room, propping her butt up on one corner.

“I know.” Oliver nodded, trying his hardest to look unaffected by her sudden predatory behavior and the playful glint in her eyes.

“Got anything nice planned for me?” she purred with a grin, her eyes twinkling in the sunshine.

“Mhmm.” Oliver mumbled, tight lipped.

He didn’t like his gift-idea one bit, not that he would tell her that. And as long as he didn’t come up with a better one, and that soon, his idea would have to do. Not that she wouldn’t appreciate it, he knew she would. But he himself wasn’t convinced that this was the best idea to come up with for her. So it was just one week before her birthday, and Oliver was still stuck with some consolation prize of a birthday surprise for her. Crap.

“Can’t wait to see it.” she purred when she hopped off the desk, and after sending her a wicked grin and a wink over her shoulder, she was out of his room just as fast as she’d been in.

Oliver sat at his desk and stared at the closed door for a few long moments. He couldn’t say that he didn’t like Felicity’s new, so much more bold behavior, but it didn’t help him with his problem either. He still needed to figure out what to do with her once she turned 18. He had promised her they would sit down and talk then, as soon as all legal obstacles were out of the way - which they were, in exactly 8 days.

With a sigh, Oliver rubbed his face and pushed the thoughts about the upcoming ‘talk’ with Felicity out of the way so he could focus on finding a better birthday present for her. He knew she’d love getting a car from him, especially the BMW convertible that he spotted at the dealer a while ago, but giving her a car for her 18th birthday was so... impersonal; and definitely not fitting into the list of gifts he’d given her so far. He really needed to find something more creative, more personal for her.

 

When Thea announced she would be organizing and hosting Felicity’s ‘big birthday bash’, Felicity wasn't too fond of the idea at first. But she had to admit, Thea had been quite invested in the whole project for a few days. Even Moira and Robert had given their okay to have a party hosted in their home and garden, and for some strange reason Thea even managed to squeeze an okay out of them when she made puppy eyes and asked for a little champagne to be served. Moira had agreed, but not without informing her daughter that both Oliver and Tommy would be on duty that night, keeping a close eye on the drinking habits of the party guests, especially Thea and Felicity. Of course Thea had agreed to that; given her brother had allowed them to drink Champagne and Cocktails on New Year's Eve over a year ago already, she had no doubts he would object with a little alcohol now.

“Will you at least tell me how many people you invited?” Felicity whined. For more than 20 minutes, she’d unsuccessfully tried to get any information out of her friend, with very little success so far.

“No.” Thea replied with a proud grin. “But I will tell you that Mom agreed to have some light booze served and that Ollie and Tommy are put on duty as our watchdogs. I can’t imagine you would object with that.”

“Absolutely not.” Felicity grinned. She wasn’t sure if Oliver would be willing to stay for the party, given that Thea probably only invited school friends their age. But hearing he would be there, and apparently the whole evening, instantly lifted her mood.

“Thought so. Now, mom and dad will have to leave around 6 for another conference in Central City, so I planned the party to start at 8. That way we’ll have enough time to get ready once mom and dad are out of the house. What are you going to wear?” she clapped excitedly and for a moment, Felicity was amazed at Thea’s outstanding party planning abilities. If she’d have to do it herself, they’d probably run out of booze an hour after the party started and in all likelihood, there wouldn’t be any music playing, at all. It was just how Felicity functioned. Give her a task, or maybe two at once, and she’d kill it. But having to keep in mind so many things at once and yet keeping her head above everything? Yeah, she was downright glad Thea so eagerly volunteered to organize the party for her.

 

The morning of her birthday started somewhat slow for Felicity. Even though there was already a ton of activity going on around her, she decided to roll over once more and just relax into the sheets for a little longer. She’d given herself a day off from working out today, so she might as well sleep in for once. With the small snippets she had caught from Thea, she’d have to be up for quite a long evening, it seemed.

When she entered the dining room around 10am, Raisa and Thea were the only ones to congratulate her. Raisa served her an opulent breakfast with all the goods she had started to love over the years while Thea kept her best friend in a tight hug, excitedly babbling about all the plans she had made for the evening.

Moira and Robert took the afternoon off so they could spend the day with their foster kid before having to leave to Central City for the annual company conference.  
“Happy birthday, dear!” Moira smiled warmly and pulled Felicity in a tight hug, something the Queen head rarely did. Robert followed suit, and after stepping back, a wide smile plastered on his face, he handed her a small package.

Felicity stared at it for a moment, trying to figure out what might be inside.

“Well, open it up, dear!”

She slowly opened the delicate bow and removed the lid, revealing a pair of car keys. When she looked up into Moira’s and Robert’s smiling faces, pure shock and surprise covering hers, Robert took a step forward.  
“We thought it was fitting. And now you won’t have to ask anyone if you want to go to the city.”  
“Come on, let’s have a look at it! We’ve had some details custom made. We hope you like it.” Moira added and motioned for her to follow them to the main entrance. Thea instantly fell in step with her, eager to see Felicity’s new car as well.

When they stepped out, a shiny black BMW convertible parked in the driveway, very similar to the one Thea owned, but with a little different details. The black leather seats sported bright pink stitching as well as the steering wheel. The whole car had very subtle pink details here and there, and Felicity loved how much attention to detail Moira and Robert had spent.

“I can’t... I mean…” she stuttered, unable to form her appreciation in words. She really loved the car, and she loved how generous her foster parents were, but this definitely felt too much to her.

“You are our daughter, Felicity. And each of our kids got their first car from us. Call it a family tradition.” Robert smiled and led her down the steps to her new car.

“What about Thea and you making a little test drive while Moira and I get your cake set up? Oliver should be home in a bit as well, and we could enjoy the afternoon outside, just the 5 of us, before Moira and I have to leave for Central City again. What do you think?”

“That’s a brilliant idea!” Thea piped up from the side and jumped into the passenger seat, not even giving Felicity any time to overthink the idea and maybe deny. She knew her best friend all too well, when things started to feel too overwhelming for her, she tried to pull back. Well Thea wasn’t going to let her pull back on her big day, that for sure.

“Alright, but please don’t be later than 4.” Moira added from the side. “Contrary to what Thea might be trying to make you believe, it is not polite to keep your guests waiting.” she smiled and turned to follow Robert back into the house.

Sending Thea one last glance, Felicity slowly took a seat in her new car and started the engine. This was by far the most expensive gift she had ever gotten and the fear of maybe even scratching the paint was still a little overwhelming for her.  
“Relax, Fee… it’s a car, not a delicate flower that will break if you breathe at it the wrong way.” Thea chuckled when Felicity steered the car off the driveway agonizingly slow.

“No, it’s not just a car, it’s a freaking 80.000$ vehicle that your parents stupidly gave me the control over. There’s reason why I never wanted to drive your car, or Oliver’s, for that matter. I’m a terrible driver, Thea!” she sighed, pulling the car to a stop when they reached the end of the private driveway, ready to turn right to head onto the road to the city.

“Well then you need to practice a little.” Thea replied, earning a tired smile from her best friend. “Geez, relax, Fee. At least you don’t have to fear wrecking my or Ollie’s car now that you got your own.” she snorted. “And now get us out of the driveway before the security guard sends someone to check if you broke the car already.” she added with a laugh, earning a smack from Felicity.

 

Spending the afternoon of her birthday with her family was something Felicity was very grateful for. Oliver had been home already when Thea and Felicity turned up at home again and Raisa had managed to create the most delicious birthday cake Felicity had ever gotten. It was a sunny and relaxed afternoon and for the first time since her parents passed away, she realized how much she missed having a big, own family like the one surrounding her right now. How she deserved to be so lucky, she certainly had no idea. Up until this day she couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that Moira and Robert took her into their family, without even having to think about it twice. And she also knew that, if it hadn’t been for the Queens, she probably would still spend her miserable life with her adoptive family, and definitely not sitting around a delicious birthday cake at that moment. Her life clearly would have been a lot different hadn’t the Queens helped her the way they did.

“Thank you.” she suddenly blurted out, making 4 pairs of eyes snap up and look at her, while Felicity directly looked at Robert and Moira.

“For what, dear?”

“For this birthday, the amazing car, for everything, actually.” she told them.

A warm smile spread on Moira’s face.  
“You don’t have to thank us for anything, Felicity. We’re glad you’re part of our family.”

“That’s what I wanted to thank you for, as well. For taking me in the way you did, even after I snuck up on you the way I did. I never expected any of this. Actually, I was only afraid I might cause Thea any trouble.” she added, earning a laugh from Thea and Moira. “But I never, for one moment, thought that I would be welcomed like this. I haven’t been very lucky when it came to that after my parents’ death, and I realized I haven’t properly thanked you for everything you’ve done for me, so that’s what I’d like to do now. Thank you, really, from the bottom of my heart. I would have never guessed I could feel like having a real family again, but I do. And I’m so happy about it.” Felicity smiled and wiped a stray tear off her cheek.

It had gotten dead silent on the sun deck, until Moira got up from her chair and pulled Felicity in a tight hug. Thea quickly shot up and joined the women, hugging Felicity from behind. Robert and Oliver stayed seated though, looking at the ball of women with a warm smile.  
“We couldn’t have asked for a better addition to this family, Felicity. You’re a wonderful young lady that has not only greatly impacted Thea’s life in the last two years, but ours as well. And if we make you feel like having a real family again, then everything is perfect.” Moira spoke while glancing over to her husband, earning a small smile and nod from him.

“Am I interrupting something?” Tommy suddenly piped in from the open doorway, a wide grin plastered on his face.

“Not at all,” Moira replied, taking a step back, so Tommy could pull Felicity into a hug.

“Happy birthday, blondie.” Tommy mumbled when he wrapped her in his arms, giving her a warm hug. When she stepped back, he handed her a small envelope. “It’s not as fancy as the gifts you usually hand out, but I thought I’d give you something you haven’t gotten yet.” he grinned and waggled his eyebrows, earning a snort from Thea.

Felicity looked at the bright blue envelope with the Merlyn logo on top of it. For a moment she was too nervous to open it but then curiosity got the best of her. Taking a knife from the coffee table, she carefully opened the side and pulled out a handwritten letter.  
After reading the text, written in Tommy’s delicate handwriting, twice, she looked up at him with incredulous eyes.  
“Aspen?”

“Yup.” he grinned proudly.

“Oh no.” Oliver’s mumble piped up from the side. He knew all too well what that letter meant. In fact, he had gotten one of these in the past, as well.

“You’re officially invited to a weekend in the snow to the Merlyn lodge, where I’ll show you the joys of snowboarding, snow skiing and hot tubbing in the snow at 10°F.”

Felicity looked over the letter one more time before she sent Tommy a confused look.  
“You mean... just you and I?” She asked him, her voice sounding just as sceptical as she looked.

Tommy laughed out loud at that.  
“Oh hell no! I couldn’t stand spending more than two hours alone with you without feeling the urge to rip that smartassed head off of yours.” he laughed. “Actually, this is for both Thea and you. And Ollie, of course. For moral support, so to speak.” he grinned proudly, winking in Oliver’s direction.

“What a lovely idea, Tommy. It has been too long since that lodge has been put to good use, anyway.” Robert threw in from beside them. Between the confused and amused looks the 4 sent each other, they had completely forgotten that there were still the Queen heads present with them.

Tommy nodded politely and stepped back from Felicity, letting Oliver take his place.  
“Since we’re doing the whole gift exchange now - “ he said, sending Tommy a pointed look, “happy birthday, Felicity. Again.” he laughed, pulling her into a tight hug. For once he wouldn’t have to worry about his parents getting a wrong opinion of them and he made sure to enjoyed it to the fullest.  
“You’ll get my gift as soon as the party started.” he mumbled into her hair before letting go of her again.

Thea was the last to step up and somehow she managed to slip back in and out of the mansion completely unnoticed, because the small box she was holding in her hands, a broad grin plastered on her lips, definitely wasn’t there before.  
“Happy birthday, Fee.” she squealed and almost tackled her friend to the ground, the gift box squashed between them. Thea crushed her so hard it knocked the breath out of her lungs.

“Gee, Thea, if your sudden outburst is any indication on how tonight’s party will be, then I have to say I’m actually scared.” Felicity laughed when she freed herself from Thea’s embrace and steadied them both safely on their feet again.

“Oh don’t worry. We’ll just have some tea and biscuits and will go to bed no later than 10pm.” she giggled, earning a smack from her friend. “Now stop hitting me and open your gift, will you?”

Quickly removing the bow and lifting the lid, Felicity peeked inside and spotted - another letter.  
“Did Tommy write this one, as well?” she laughed when she held it up for everyone to see. She was about to set the box aside so she could read the letter when something shiny in the box caught her eye. She rummaged through the tissue and pulled out a small silver eiffel tower with a little keychain attached to it. Sending Thea a confused look, her friend nudged her to open and read the letter.

Felicity’s eyes flew over the few written lines on the letter, all neatly written down in Thea’s handwriting. When she read the letter a second time, Thea spoke up next to her.  
“I remember you said how much you hated not being able to visit Paris with your class during the summer program. So I thought it would be a nice idea to take you there now, just the two of us. We’ll do some sight seeing, shopping, eat some weird food, whatever you want to do.” Thea smiled, earning an equally broad smile from her best friend. “I had a little help from mom and dad, though,” Thea confessed, “they’ll let us take the QC jet, so we won’t have to deal with extra waiting times at the airport.”

“But of course you won’t go all on your own.” Moira threw in from beside them, making both Tommy and Oliver sigh a breath of relief. The moment each of them heard that ‘their’ girl would be leaving for Paris, alone at that, they stopped breathing. Habits of watching _Taken_ a little too often, it seemed.  
“John Diggle will accompany you at all times and don’t you dare trying to sneak on him.” Moira warned them with a pointed finger. “I only approved of Thea’s idea under this condition. And no drinking, of course.”

Both women nodded before turning their attention back to each other, squealing in delight.

Tommy and Oliver both went oddly silent after that. The moment Moira had announced the girls wouldn’t be going alone, a part of Oliver had hoped she’d ask him to accompany them. Of course he would have to deal with his father before, hoping he could take some days off, but he was sure he would’ve managed. Hearing that their bodyguard had been assigned for that job, though, slightly disappointed him, not that he’d ever tell his parents that.  
He could only hope the trip would just be a few days, one week max. He wasn’t sure if he could stand being separated from Felicity longer than that. Not after his whole 1-year-trip fiasco from that their friendship yet had to fully recover, even though it was on an awesome path at that moment.

Pushing these thoughts away, he focused on the birthday party Thea had organized for later that night. He couldn’t wait to give her her gift. After waking up in the middle of the night from one a little too pleasant dream, Oliver hopped out of bed and scribbled down a few thoughts of what he later deemed ‘the best goddamn gift idea I’ve ever gotten for her’. Finalizing everything a day later went surprisingly quick and easy, much to his surprise. Now he couldn’t wait to give her her gift, but since he planned to do it in a little more private setting, he’d decided to do it later, once the party started and his parents were out of the house.

 

Everyone fell into an easy conversation after the gifts had been handed out, and Felicity even forced Tommy to eat a slice of the cake Raisa had made her. It was a perfectly relaxed birthday afternoon for her with her family and closest friends, something she hadn’t had in - forever, actually.

Half an hour later, Moira and Robert got up from their spots.  
“We really have to leave now or we’ll be late for the conference.” she announced and pulled Felicity into one last hug. “Have a lovely birthday party. Raisa will make sure there’s enough food and drinks. But if you need anything else, just ask Oliver. I’ll be home back tomorrow morning for the meeting with the adoption counselor, so please don’t overdo it tonight, alright? We don’t want you to greet the counselor for the last time, sporting raccoon eyes and some lack of sleep, right?”

Felicity nodded with a small smile, accepted Robert’s hug and then watched them leave for the mansion. Thea didn’t give her much time to think about anything, though.  
“It’s almost 6, that leaves us exactly two hours before the first guests will be here. And, knowing our friends pretty well when it comes to free booze, they’ll definitely be on time. So you and me -” she spoke and dragged Felicity over the patio and back to the mansion, “we have to get ready now. See you later guys!” she quickly waved and before Felicity knew what was happening, they were already in the hallway, walking up to their rooms.

 

When Oliver came down to the living room, dressed in Jeans and a light blue button down, the mansion was already buzzing with activity.  
Raisa was rummaging through the kitchen, yelling orders at the two other servers while some girl Oliver had seen with Thea once or twice before - Alice, maybe? - ran through the living room, stocking up the tables with snacks and crackers. She stopped for a moment when she spotted Oliver standing in the doorway, but quickly regained her wits and flashed him a wide grin and approached him with quick steps.  
“You must be Ollie. Hi, I’m Alicia. I’m a friend of Thea and Felicity.” she smiled at him and waved her manicured nails in his direction. Oliver loosely shook her hand, but let go just as quickly. The way she batted her eyelashes at him made him incredibly uncomfortable.

“Aren’t you a little early? The party won’t start for another -” he quickly checked his watch, “30 minutes. Aren’t women usually 30 minutes late, instead of 30 minutes early?”  
She giggled at him and in a high pitched voice and swatted his arm lightly, resting it there for longer than he’d have liked.

“You’re funny. I’m helping Thea getting everything ready for the party.” She winked and - finally, thank god! - removed her hand from his bicep. Turning on her heel, walking back to the bar to grab the stack of red cups, she looked over her shoulder and gave him a seductive smile.  
“And to answer your question… I’m never early. Usually I come right on time.”

With a wink in his direction, she resumed her task doing whatever the hell she was doing and left Oliver standing in the middle of the living room, completely shocked and confused. That girl looked like she was barely 18 years old, and did she really just hit on him?

Shaking himself out of his shock, he quickly left the living room and stormed into the kitchen. That woman could easily turn into a huge problem tonight if she’d decided to keep up with that - whatever she was doing 2 minutes ago. He didn’t want Felicity to witness it, and he certainly had no interest to dodge her advances all night.  
Texting a quick SOS to Tommy, letting him know to come to the mansion as soon as he could, Oliver hid in the kitchen for another 15 minutes, avoiding to go out at any cost while at the same time hoping that Alicia - girl wouldn’t come in. As long as he had no idea how to politely tell her off, he needed to avoid her.

That’s how Tommy found him 10 minutes later, hiding in the kitchen like some teenager.  
“Dude, what’s wrong? And who is that brunette chick that hit on me just 2 minutes ago in the living room? Do her parents know what she does when she’s not at home?” he laughed with a shake of head when he entered the kitchen, motioning behind himself with his thumb.

“That’s what the SOS was about.” Oliver mumbled and hopped off the kitchen stool.

“Oh so she hit on you, too?” Tommy replied, clearly amused.  
“Wonder if she’ll try and get us to tag-team her when we step out and she sees us together?” he joked, earning a hard stare from Oliver.

“Tommy!” he snapped and swatted his friend over the head. “That’s not funny! What if Felicity sees it? That girl is one of their friends!! And this is her birthday party!” Oliver told him with an exhausted sigh.

“Yeah what are you going to do about it? Hide in the kitchen all night because a teenage girl hit on you? Very mature, buddy.” Tommy chuckled and was about to leave the kitchen again when he turned to his friend once again.  
“I don’t think I need to remind you, but Felicity’s 18 years old now. Go and finally stake a claim on her. That’ll be as clear as it can get to this girl out there.” he winked and was out the door before Oliver could object.

 

The party started somewhat slow with just a few guests arriving on time. Since most of Thea’s friends knew their way round at the mansion, neither Tommy nor Oliver needed to shoo anyone out of the private hallways or lead them to the right direction.  
Of course, Felicity was fashionably late to her own party. When she arrived downstairs, the party was already in full swing, more than 50 guests mingling and chatting away in the living room and on the garden deck. A DJ that was playing some dance tracks out in the garden area and even a few people had made use of the pool already, even though just with their feet dangling in the water.

Tommy and Oliver made their rounds across the party, watching like a hawk that no drugs were being passed around. Well, Tommy was making rounds through the crowds. Oliver tried to hide himself with refilling Champagne glasses or finding reasons to leave for the kitchen, for the most part.  
But the moment he entered the living room and saw Felicity standing next to Thea, his jaw dropped. Thankful for the bar next to him, he gripped the handle of it to steady himself.

In the other side of the room she stood, surrounded by a few people Oliver didn’t recognize, laughing and hugging everyone that approached her. But what made him catch his breath was the way she was dressed up.  
She was wearing a skin tight, almost inappropriately short grey bandage dress with some intricate black laces along her neckline, running down the front of her dress. Oliver took the moment when no one greeted her to fully take in the way it hugged her body so perfectly. She still hadn’t noticed him standing a few feet away, too wrapped up with her guests, but the moment she turned to greet someone, Oliver was sure he was about to suffer a heart attack.  
Her back was completely bare, except for the dressline ending just above the cute dimples on her back, and the small lacey neckline. How the dressed stayed in place like that, he seriously had no idea. But he did realize that this very little amount of fabric she was wearing instantly made him want to grab and hide her somewhere no one else would be, preferably his bedroom.

The moment she looked through the room and spotted him, her eyes lit up. She excused herself from the group and walked over to him, a wide smile on her lips. That moment he noticed her high heels for the first time.  
“Hey,” she spoke up when she stopped in front of him. “I hope my guests behave themselves so far?”

Oliver could only gulp and nod like a goddamn teenager. Clearing his throat, he looked down her body once more before he settled his gaze on her face again.  
“You look beautiful tonight.” he rasped out. “I remember those high heels.

That made her look down at her feet in confusion. “Really? From when?”

 _’From the night you had them wrapped around my body when I kissed you senseless in the hallway of Verdant._ “Oh, you were wearing them on that New Year’s Party at Verdant. They’re so shiny, it was the first thing I noticed about you.” he casually told her, earning a small nod and a smile from her.

 

Thea and her friends didn’t give them any more time to chat, though, when they pulled her outside to the garden deck and made her greet everyone through the microphone. From that moment on, Oliver and Tommy held themselves in the background, only casually joining some groups for a little chit chat. Thankfully, Alicia didn’t make another move on him the moment Thea and Felicity had joined the party, so he even allowed himself to go out to the garden deck a few times. And even though more people came to the party than Thea had told her mother, Oliver had to admit that the evening started a lot better than he first anticipated.

Now he only needed to find a good moment to sneak Felicity away from the crowd without anyone noticing so he could give her her gift.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I had to split up the birthday in two Chapters, I decided to post this one a little earlier than I originally intended to.
> 
> I'm not going to say much about this Chapter, just enjoy this 16k word - beast, and as usual, please let me know what you think! There are some parts I was nervous about posting, but my lovely friend Miri convinced me to post it if I like it, since this story is mine, after all.  
> So without further ado, enjoy! ♥♥
> 
> This story is rated M for a reason!

What started out as a slow, relaxed birthday gathering quickly changed into what would later be described as ‘Felicity’s 18th helluva birthday bash’, the moment Thea’s friend arrived with two trays full of jello-shot filled strawberries.

Up until that moment, Oliver and Tommy had successfully managed to keep the crowd at check, seeing nothing more than champagne and beer being consumed, with the occasional cocktail every now and then. But the moment Tommy spotted all the half sliced strawberries being carried around by the guests, suspiciously looking like more than ‘just’ some fruit, he went to look for Oliver. If this was Thea’s version of the jello-shot, they REALLY needed to keep any eye on the guests. Puking around the house and passing out by the pool surely wasn’t something the Queens would’ve appreciated.

 

Oliver took some minutes off to sprint back to his room and fetch the gift for Felicity. Since it had gotten pretty crowded and the chances of stealing her away for a moment were becoming rarer, he knew he needed to act soon if he wanted her to have the gift before the night ended.

With his gift safely hidden in his suit jacket, he made his way back to the party crowd. When he spotted her standing outside, laughing with two of her friends, he took his chance.

Walking up behind her, he placed his hand on the low of her back, making her body freeze on the spot.  
“You’re coming with me.” Oliver whispered into her ear and started pulling her away from the party and out to the backyard. Too confused to realize what was happening, Felicity quickly excused herself, handed one of her friends her drink and followed willingly, wondering what Oliver might be up to. And since she rarely had time to talk to him or even be near him since her party started, she wasn’t one to protest when he pulled her away for a few minutes.

“Where are we going?” she asked him when she stopped and took off her heels so she could follow Oliver across the grass.

“Oh you’ll see soon enough.” he smiled and kept walking, her hand firmly grasped in his.

The sounds of the people partying behind them became more and more silent the farther Oliver led her away from the house. When they rounded the small array of trees and the garden shed and horse stables came in sight, her eyes narrowed slightly. Did he really plan to drag her away from the party for some ‘alone time’ in the garden shed? Not that she’d mind; actually, she’d wondered all night if and when Oliver would make a move on her.

When he passed the garden shed, though, and walked straight to the horse stables, the confusion only grew in her. Did he really plan to do _it_ in the stables?

The horses were all stalled up, ready for the night. Only the small light coming from the tack room sent a faint light into the stables. When Oliver and Felicity stepped inside, some of the horses looked up but quickly went back to minding their own business. When they arrived at the back of the stable, right in front of Castiel’s stall and the small tack room, Oliver stopped and turned around, facing Felicity with a warm smile.

“Why are we here, Oliver?” she asked him, gesturing around herself. “Not that I mind a little break from the party, but... here? We should let the horses rest and go over to the shed, if you want to talk.” Felicity offered, motioning to the wooden building in the distance, already making a step towards the exit when Oliver stopped her.

“Felicity... we’re exactly where I want us to be.” he smiled and let his thumbs rub soothingly over the back of her hand. He loved that he could still confuse her like that, that he was still able to surprise her. Usually she was able to figure him out quite easily, so seeing her face so thoroughly confused and blushing at the same time really made him proud.

Oliver reached inside his suit jacket and pulled out an ivory colored envelope that he handed to her. Felicity’s eyes went down to the offered piece in his hand like she had no idea what to do with it before her eyes went up to look at him again.  
“Don’t stare at me like that,” he chuckled slightly and offered her the envelope again, “take it.”

“Seems it is my year of letters.” she smiled shyly.  
With slightly shaky fingers, she took the envelope and very slowly opened the wax seal. Where he found the place to beautifully seal a letter like that, she had no idea, but even before reading what’s inside that envelope, Felicity already made a mental note to keep it and hang it to the wall in her room.

Oliver took a step back and watched her closely when she pulled out the letter and started unfolding it.

 

Her eyes went up and down over the paper for what seemed like hours. The longer Felicity took to read, the more nervous Oliver became. Right until this moment, he was sure he’d found the perfect gift for her, but now he wasn’t so confident any more. Was this in her interest, at all? Did she even WANT this gift?  
His palms got sweaty and he could feel his pulse pick up. If she didn’t say something, soon, he was sure he’d combust.

 

“I don’t understand.” she finally spoke up when she looked up from the letter in her shaky hands. The confused frown on her face didn’t do anything to calm Oliver’s nerves.

“He’s yours now, Felicity.” Oliver smiled, trying to make her understand.

“But... how... I mean -”

“I bought him for you. Well, technically, I bought him for myself, because all the horses are owned by my mother and I couldn’t give you something that someone else owns. So I bought him. And now I’m giving him to you.” He tried to keep his nervousness out of his face and his voice, he tried not to appear as affected as she was. But the longer she didn’t seem to react to his gift other than frowning at him in confusion, he had no idea how to hold himself together.

Felicity’s mouth opened and closed a few times, trying to say something, anything, but words failed her. When she looked over at the stall, she saw Castiel peacefully nibbling on his hay, completely unfazed by the two people standing in front of his stall.

Her Castiel.

Oliver had given her the one thing she truly loved aside from him. When realization finally started to kick in, Felicity looked down at the letter in her hands again. Not just a letter, documentation of ownership, to be exact. With her name written down in the top left corner, stating her as the sole owner of Castiel El Sueño. And for the first time, Felicity realized how much the stallion’s full name fit. This really was a dream. A dream come true.

Tears started to form in her eyes and with her high heels thrown to the ground, Felicity wrapped her arms around Oliver, hugging him so tightly he had to take a step back to steady them. His arms immediately flew around her and for the first time since he pulled her away from the crowd, Oliver felt like he could breathe again.  
Felicity over and over whispered _‘Thank you, Oliver. Thank you so much.’_ into his chest while a few tears wetted his shirt. He didn’t mind one bit; in fact, he loved feeling her so close to him again, so full of emotions that he was able to pull out of her.

 

For minutes, they did nothing else then holding each other, wrapped up so tightly it was hard to tell where one of them ended and the other began. Oliver made no effort to loosen his grip on her and, much to his relief, neither did Felicity. Minutes passed by, and only the sound of the horses munching away on their food and the very distant sound of music coming from the mansion broke the silence in the barn.

When Felicity’s arms grew heavy and her feet started to hurt from standing on her tip-toes for more than 5 minutes, she reluctantly let go of Oliver. Her makeup was pretty much ruined, with two black streaks running down her cheek where the tears spilled over. Oliver gently swiped his thumb over them to remove the smeared mascara, earning a shy laugh from her.  
“I must look like some possessed witch right now.” she chuckled and bent to pick up her shoes.

“Want me to sneak you inside unseen so you can freshen up?” Oliver offered and the beaming smile that Felicity sent him, paired with a short nod of her head, made him grab her hand and pull her out of the barn. Walking on the outer perimeters of the property, Oliver kept as much distance between them and the party guests, hoping he could avoid being seen. When they left the grass and went to step on the gravel driveway leading around the house to the staff entrance, Felicity bent down to put on her heels again.  
“Not happening.” Oliver suddenly stopped her and took her shoes in his hand. “Hop on!”

Piggy - backing to the side entrance, Oliver managed to avoid being seen by anyone, even Raisa and the other staff who were rushing in and out of the house. The moment they arrived at her door, Oliver gently set her down and handed her the envelope and her shoes.  
“See you downstairs in a bit?”

Felicity smiled and nodded, quickly went into her room and closed the door behind her.

With probably the brightest smile Oliver had had in a long time, he made his way back downstairs to help Tommy oversee the party, though a drink or two for himself couldn’t hurt now, either.

 

The second time Oliver got to spend time with Felicity that night, she was drunk. And not just slightly tipsy from one too many Champagne flutes, but completely wasted. And it was barely 10pm. How she managed to get so wasted in just the 45 minutes since he dropped her off at her room to freshen up - Oliver had no idea.  
Tonight, it seemed she had decided that all bets were off. It was her 18th birthday, over all.

 

Oliver wasn’t sure he’d ever seen her so - giggly.  
It seemed she'd completly lost herself in between a little too many champagne flutes and oh yeah, Sarah’s infamous strawberry margarita jello shots. She made a mental note to kiss Thea later for her genius idea on sneaking strawberry jello-shots to the party.

“To one hell of a birthday!” she loudly announced with a hiccup while holding one of the jelly-filled strawberries up in the air, giggling to herself. It was Oliver’s amused and slightly confused look that made her realize she had said it out loud, sending her off into a burst of giggles, her face hiding in Oliver’s neck.

And - how the hell did she end up on Oliver’s lap? Looking around the room she could see the couch they were sitting on was completely cramped. Yeah, well, she needed to sit somewhere, right?

Before she could think too much about it, or talk herself out of it, she placed a kiss against his neck. She smiled as she felt him tensing up, taking a deep breath as his conversation with some guy from her school stopped suddenly.

She had just placed a second kiss further along his neck when she felt two strong hands pulling her up and turning her, bringing her eye to eye with Oliver. She grinned at him, taking in pretty cute, confused look.  
“Felicity,” he breathed out in a low tone, “What are you doing?”

She grinned cheekily and giggled at him while she tried to steal another strawberry of the tray beside them. “Just having fun, Oliver. Geez, relax!”

Oliver stared into her eyes for a moment and then quickly got up and left the room, leaving her with some guys she barely knew from school and oh! another strawberry shot. Yay!  
Stuffing the fruit in her mouth, she moaned at the taste of fruit and jello, mixed with the slight trace of vodka. Probably her new favourite drink from now on, yup. Contemplating if they served this special ‘drink’ at their local bars and nightclubs, Felicity leaned back into the warm cushions that Oliver just occupied a few moments ago and looked around. Many people were partying and dancing, others were chatting here and there. Impressed that Thea managed to organize such an amazing party for her, Felicity looked around, trying to locate another one of her ‘new favourite drinks’.

 

Tommy rounded the mansion every few hours, always keeping a close eye on Thea and Felicity. They weren’t allowed to drink anything aside from champagne, so he at least made sure they wouldn’t pass out in a corner or something like that. When he found Thea in a conversation with some other girls, casually sipping on some red wine, but no Felicity anywhere in sight, he quickly strode over to her.

“Thea, have you seen Felicity?” Placing his hand on her bare back wasn’t necessary, but certainly did its job, if the short flicker of desire in her eyes was any indication.

“Oh, yeah,” Thea spoke up after setting down her empty glass, “she left to the library for a round of strawberry shots I believe. She’s having the time of her life, I have never seen her that drunk.” Thea laughed but Tommy was already half out of sight and on its way to the library. When he spotted her, sitting on the couch with some other kids, slurring and giggling like a little kid over something, Tommy quickly pulled her up and wrapped an arm around her.  
“Come on, birthday girl, we’re getting you a strong coffee now.”

“Ewww, no coffee on my party, Merlyn! Unless it’s an Irish one!” Felicity proclaimed with a laugh and let herself being dragged through the mansion on wobbly feet.  
When they arrived in the kitchen, Tommy poured her a coffee and placed a small pill on the table in front of her. She quickly eyed the white pill before she looked up at him again.

“Oh honey, you made dinner! But I have already eaten, thanks.” she giggled. Tommy could just shake his head with laughter.

“You know, you’re really cute when you’re drunk. That’s Aspirin. Take it, or your head will feel like it’ll explode as soon as you wake up tomorrow. Trust me; I’ve had my fair share of jello-shot parties.”

Felicity groaned and popped the pill in her mouth before she swallowed it with a large sip of the coffee.

“Awesome. As soon as you’ve finished that, we’ll take you to bed.”

Felicity looked at him in mocked shock.  
“Thomas Merlyn you nasty thing. Take me on a date first or at least buy me some flowers before trying to get into my pants.” she giggled at him after a hiccup and actually made him laugh again. “Besides, I’m not even tired.”

“No, but it’s barely 10.30pm and you’re already completely wasted and I’m sure you don’t want to sleep in when Moira and the adoption counselor expect you at breakfast tomorrow at 8, right?” he replied with a grin, his arms crossed over his chest while he watched Felicity process what he just said.

She just groaned at that and busied herself on emptying the large mug in front of her. Tommy watched her with an amused grin the entire time. Of course she’d forgotten to think about the appointment with the adoption counselor the next morning.

 

Just when Tommy was about to leave the kitchen with Felicity safely tucked under his arm, Thea entered the room, taking in Felicity’s drunken state and half wrapped position around Tommy’s body.  
“What’s going on here?”

“I’m going to bed. With Tommy.” Felicity loudly announced with a grin and Thea’s eyes shot open at that, her whole body going stiff. When she was about to throw a fit at Tommy, said man spoke up.

“She’s kidding, Thea, relax. I’m just taking her upstairs so she won’t be a mess at the counselor appointment tomorrow morning.”

At Tommy’s statement, Thea’s expression immediately softened.  
“Oh right, the adoption counselor! I completely forgot about that! Well then… Sleep well, Lissy. I’ll take care of your party.” she smiled and kissed her cheek.

“It was a lovely Party, thanks again. Hide the remaining jello shots for me!” Felicity called after her while Tommy made his way to the side exit that directly led to the stairs to the upper level.

 

After he tucked her into bed, surprisingly without hearing any form of protest from her, Tommy made his way back downstairs. Oliver was sitting on a couch in the living room, sipping on a Scotch, casually chatting with some guys about Football. Thea was running around, entertaining almost all the guests at once, so he poured himself a Scotch as well and took a seat next to Oliver.

They both didn’t plan to get drunk that night since they promised Moira and Robert to take care of the girls and the guests, but a drink or two would do.

 

 

It was nearly 2am when the last few guests left the party. Raisa was already cleaning up the rooms when Oliver picked a very sleepy Thea up and took her to her room. Tommy said his goodbyes for the night and took his usual guest room in the west wing.

 

When Oliver emerged from the bathroom, feeling a bit light-headed after emptying the bottle of Scotch with Tommy, he immediately made a beeline for the bed. Just after he shut down the light on his nightstand, the door to his room slowly opened and closed again. He couldn’t see who had entered the room, but when he turned on the light of his nightstand again, he saw Felicity standing there in the middle of his room, her hair damp, dressed in only her black sleep shorts and a tank top. As soon as he spotted her, he jumped out of bed and took 3 steps in her direction.

“Felicity what –“

“Oliver.” she just whispered while she stared at him through the dim light. Oliver tried to read her expression, but he had no idea what she would want in his room at 2 in the morning.

He grabbed her arms and tilted his head to look her straight in the eyes. She didn’t seem to be sleep-walking and it seemed she had slept off most of the alcohol already as well.  
“Felicity, are you okay?”

 

When she didn’t reply, but took a step closer to him, Oliver tensed for a moment. She placed a hand on his bare chest, looked up at him and lifted herself onto her tip toes. When she reached his neck and leaned even closer to him, Oliver’s body completely stilled.  
“I want you.” she whispered before placing a soft kiss to his neck. The neck she had been kissing earlier. The kiss that made him flee the room and get some fresh air on the balcony, trying to calm his nerves.

He inhaled sharply, immediately loosening his grip on her arms. When he was ready to take a step back from her, Felicity stopped him and wrapped a hand around his neck. This probably was her only chance and she wasn’t going to give up so easily. “Oliver… please.”

He could feel her breath on his neck, slowly moving closer to his lips. He should stop her. It was the responsible thing to do. But he couldn’t. As soon as her lips brushed his, his heart jumped slightly and his brain just stopped working altogether. She licked her lips, and when her tongue brushed his lower lip in the process, all walls that Oliver had built crumpled to the ground. She licked his lower lip again and when she tried to close the distance between them, Oliver gave it a last try.

“We shouldn’t be doing this,” he whispered onto her lips but Felicity could feel his heartbeat speeding up under her palm.

“There’s no reason we can’t.” she whispered back.

“There are plenty of reasons, Felicity.”

Felicity just shook her head slowly. “I don’t care. Right now, I want you. I need you. And I can feel you want it too.” she whispered when her hand slid from her chest down his abs and over his sweatpants, gently cupping the bulge that already formed there. Where her sudden boldness came from? She had no idea. But since this probably was her only chance, she had to put everything on the table and try every move she knew.

“Felicity,” Oliver half growled, half whispered, but before he could speak any further, she pressed her lips firmly on his.

After freezing in for a second at the feel of her soft lips on his again after so many months, Oliver immediately responded to the kiss and pulled her flush to his body. When she gasped and let out a soft moan, he used the chance to slip his tongue between her lips. His hands wandered to her ass and in a swift motion he pulled her up into his arms and walked her over to his bed.

As soon as he laid her down he draped himself over her, kissing her neck and collarbone while his hand sneaked under her tank top. Felicity arched her back and let out a soft moan when he nibbled at a delicate point on her neck. Oliver quickly grabbed her shirt and pulled it over her head, surprised to find her bra-less under it.

He looked down at her for a moment, taking in her lean, well shaped body and firm breasts, bathed in the warm, dim light of the small bed lamp. She looked so young, so innocent. He shouldn’t be doing this.

Just when doubts started to pull him back, Felicity let her fingers run over his chest and abs. Oliver let out a soft groan and immediately forgot all doubts again. He gently licked over one of her nipples and earned a deep moan from her. God, she was so responsive, he thought to himself. Her hip continuously grinded into his, trying to find and form of friction.

When she wrapped one of her legs around his hip, trying to pull him deeper onto her, all of Oliver’s control completely snapped. He grinded his hips into her sharply and closely watched her reaction after that. When he could see a heat in her eyes he had never seen before, he did it again. This time, her eyes fell shut and she let out another soft moan.

“You like that, don’t you?” he whispered into her neck between kisses and all Felicity could do was nod.  
“I want to taste you… please let me taste you, Felicity.” Oliver almost begged between kissing and sucking on her nipples and Felicity could only nod again. When he hooked his fingers under the waistband of her sleep shorts and panties and slowly pulled them down her legs, he couldn’t keep his eyes off her.

 

It was Felicity who started this, who came to him and told him she wanted this – but it was him who couldn’t stop it any more, even if he wanted to. As soon as she lay in front of him, on his bed, naked and glistening wet, he knew there was no way back for him anymore. He wanted it just as much as she did. For longer than he could admit.

 

He gently spread her legs and situated himself between them. The first licks and kisses though were placed on the inside of her right thigh. Oliver slowly kissed and nibbled his way to the center, only to gently brush it with his nose and kiss his way up her other thigh again. He did that twice, until Felicity looked up at him, her eyes desperately begging for more.

At the first lick a loud moan left her mouth and for a moment, Oliver was glad that Thea was completely wasted, Tommy was sleeping on the other side of the house and his parents were out for the night, otherwise he was certain Felicity would have woken up someone. The fact that it was his going made him proud.

When he gently sucked on her clit and slowly inserted a finger into her, pumping it in and out at a maddeningly slow pace, she did it again.  
“Oh god, Oliver,” Felicity moaned under his ministrations, “don’t stop, please don’t stop.” she begged and Oliver was far from stopping. When he felt her body tensing up slowly, he added a second finger and picked up speed while circling her clit with his tongue. It didn’t take him long to drive Felicity over the edge.  
She came with a loud moan, her back arching off the bed before her body went completely limp on the mattress.

Oliver slowly kissed his way up her body after guiding her through her orgasm, paying both nipples close attention before he captured her lips again in a bruising kiss. She could taste herself on his tongue and the fact that she didn’t mind sharing her own juices with her aroused Oliver even more.

Felicity caught him completely off guard, though, when she wrapped one leg around his hips and rolled him over, straddling him in the process.

“Payback,” she smirked at him and Oliver could only stare at her in awe. The girl he had denied himself for almost 3 years currently straddled his lap, bare naked, confidently grinding her hips slowly onto his cotton-clad erection. When Oliver could feel his sweatpants getting wet from her juices while she kept sliding her hips over him, he let out a low growl. Felicity giggled slightly, leaned forward to him and whispered “You like that, don’t you?”

When Oliver quirked an eyebrow at her, she smirked and slowly slid down his legs, hooking her fingers under his sweatpants, pulling them with her in the process. As soon as she freed Oliver’s erection and gave it a soft squeeze, it was his turn to moan. It had been too long since someone else had touched him and the fact that Felicity was the one doing it now made him even harder.

With a seductive grin, Felicity slowly leaned down and licked a long stripe over his hard length. Oliver couldn’t take his eyes off of her. When she lightly scratched her teeth over his head, he had to grip her hair and force himself to keep his hips still and not thrust into her mouth. She sucked at his head, darting her tongue out, tickling his slit. Inch by inch she lowered her lips down his length and just when he reached her throat, she swallowed, twice.

“Oh fuck, Felicity,” Oliver moaned, “god, please don’t stop.”

And then she started humming, adding vibrations to the sucking and licking and Oliver knew he wouldn’t last long if she kept up this pace. While he wondered for a moment where she must have learned all that, Felicity started massaging his balls and Oliver couldn’t stop yet another moan that left him.

“Felicity,” he warned her, but she didn’t stop the sucking and licking, too bound up in working his cock, “I’m not going to last long if you keep that up.” he practically begged her but Felicity didn’t stop or slow down. Instead, she started bobbing her head up and down even faster and after a few moments, Oliver actually had to pull her off him and roll them over.

When she grinned at him and tried to grip his length, Oliver grabbed both her wrists and pinned them above her head. “Sneaky little minx,” he smirked at her before he locked his lips with hers once more, licking and sucking on her lower lip while he kept her hands pinned on the pillow above them. His other hand traveled south again, spreading her legs a bit wider. He flicked her clit a few times again and Felicity jerked in arousal every time.

“God, you’re so wet…” Oliver whispered between kisses and Felicity tilted her head to the side to reach his neck, that sweet spot she picked for herself just several hours ago. She bit him slightly and immediately soothed the sting with her tongue before she whispered into his ear.

“Please, Oliver...”

Keeping her wrists securely pinned above their heads, Oliver grabbed her knee with the other hand and spread her wide open before he buried himself in her in one hard thrust.

Both let out a moan at the sudden feeling and Felicity’s eyes went wide in shock, her mouth hanging open while Oliver tried to get his thoughts under control again. “God, you’re so tight.” he muttered before looking straight in her eyes again. “You okay?”

Felicity couldn’t find her voice to reply, so she just nodded and waited for the feeling to get comfortable.  
After a few shallow thrusts to let her get used to his size, Oliver started pulling out almost completely and suddenly stopped moving. Felicity whimpered and moaned under him, constantly trying to free her hands from his grip, always moving her hips to get some friction.

“Please, Oliver,” she begged.

Oliver leaned down to her ear, nibbled on her earlobe and whispered “Please what? What do you want? Tell me.”

Felicity wasn’t used to dirty talk or talking about what she wanted in general, but her current state of arousal made it impossible not to say anything to him.  
“I need you, please...” she whimpered and Oliver just grinned at her, giving one of her nipples a soft bite before he slammed back into her, hard.

 

He kept up a hard and quick pace, knowing he couldn’t play any games for much longer. Felicity moaned into his ear with every thrust and if it could, it would have spurred him on even more. The bed squeaked slightly under his hard thrusts and when he let go of her hands, leaned up and grabbed her other knee to spread her even wider for him, Felicity could finally touch him again.  
Oliver buried himself deep inside her over and over again and Felicity clawed on his arms for dear life. When he felt her body stiffening under him again, he knew she was close. He let go of one leg and started rubbing her clit in slight circles while he whispered into her ear. “Let go… Come for me, Felicity.”

The sound of their skin slapping together, mixed with the squeaking sound of the bed and their moans and Oliver’s fingers on her clit finally sent her over the edge.

Felicity came with a shout, her walls convulsing around him, nails digging into his shoulders.

Feeling her contractions around his cock finally sent him over the edge as well. All it took were two more thrusts and Oliver came with a groan, buried deep inside of her.

 

It took them both several minutes to gather their thoughts again. Oliver fell on top of Felicity like a wet sack and after two minutes of heavy panting, Felicity tried to wriggle away from under him. Oliver took the cue, and with his last strength, he rolled off of her and over to the side. Before she could move anywhere though, Oliver had already pulled the blanket over them and drifted off to sleep, spooning her from behind.

Felicity lay wide awake for a little longer, too overwhelmed to fall asleep though.

 

It had finally happened, she had slept with Oliver. Ever since he and Thea helped her come to Starling City, her crush on him had only intensified. And the older they got, the more appealing he became to her. Thea knew about Felicity’s crush on him from the beginning, and in the end, she would have to thank her best friend for what just happened, even if it was kind of weird because it happened with her best friend’s brother.

But if Thea hadn’t told her _’sometimes you gotta take risks in life to achieve your goals.’_ Felicity probably would never have gathered up the courage to flirt so extensively with Oliver that night, let alone sit in his lap or pepper his neck with kisses during the party, especially where others could have seen them. And if she hadn’t seen and felt his positive response and sharp intake of breath after her kisses, she would have never dared to come to his room and tell him she wanted him, acting so bold even though she had no real idea what she should be doing.

When she turned to face him, she could see Oliver sleeping on his side, facing her. He had an easiness on his face that she just rarely saw on him. She itched to gently stroke his cheek, but was too scared to wake him up. So she slowly reached over him, dimmed the light and went to sleep as well.

 

\---------------------------------------------

 

The next morning, Felicity was the one to wake up first. Her inner clock working meticulously, she was actually happy to wake up early. It was still almost dark outside, but the clock on Oliver’s nightstand told her Moira would arrive in an hour with the adoption counselor to sign the final papers and she hadn’t even showered yet. When she gently hopped out of bed and crouched through the room, trying to find her sleep shorts, Oliver slowly awoke.

“What are you doing there?” he asked with a raspy voice after watching her for a few moments, making Felicity jerk back in shock.

“You’re awake!” It came out more as a statement than a question. “I’m trying to find my shorts. I very well can’t leave your room and waltz around the mansion without any pants on – ah, there they are!” she grinned and pulled the shorts from under the bed to pull them on. Giving him a warm smile, Felicity started wrapping her hair in a ponytail when suddenly Oliver sat up in bed and cleared his throat.

“Listen,” he started in a voice that made Felicity immediately stop working on her hair and fully face him. “About last night… I don’t want you to interpret this the wrong way… we, uhm… we’re cool, right?”

Felicity stared at him in utter shock and had a hard time keeping her facial expressions at bay. _’We’re cool?!’_  
It took her several long moments to let it sink in what Oliver just told her. When she could feel tears starting to form behind her eyes, she took a deep breath and nodded quickly with a forced smile.  
“I gotta go now, I still need to get ready for the counselor coming later. You, uh… just go back to sleep, it’s still in the middle of the night, after all.” Felicity tried to sound as casual as she could, but the last few words were more forced whispers than actual words, her voice dying in her throat. So she quickly threw on her tank top, grabbed her paties and without a second glance, she ran out of Oliver’s room, quickly shutting the door behind her. She would not start to cry while Oliver could hear her, she would not.

 

As soon as she arrived at her room, tears were streaming down her face, blurring her vision. She quickly slipped inside, dashed into her bathroom and firmly closed the door behind her before she let the tears fully stream down her face, her back sliding down the wooden door before she landed on the cold, marble floor of her bathroom.

She was such a fool, thinking that sleeping with Oliver, seducing him and spending the night with him would finally make him fall in love with her. Why didn’t she think that through? She should have known Oliver wasn’t interested in a real relationship with her or he would’ve made his move weeks ago. She should have known this would never go beyond one casual night because she knew she would never be as good as Laurel, or Sara, or any other of his ex-girlfriends, no matter how affectionate he was towards her or how he treated her.  
And still she couldn’t stop herself. Her stupid, naïve, young heart made her a fool of herself, once again, thinking that now, that she was finally old enough to be with him, he’d make up his mind and things could finally start to get serious between them. How stupid she had been!

Now she found herself alone in her shower, crying for the man she fell in love with almost 2 years ago; crying for showing that weakness towards her heart and going over to his room at 2 in the morning; crying at herself for being so foolish for believing she could finally make him hers.

 

She wasn’t able to look him in the eyes after he told her she shouldn’t interpret it the wrong way. Which, she was no idiot, was just the polite version of _‘No, we’re not a couple now.’_. So fleeing was the only option she saw at that moment. She didn’t want to lose her face completely by starting to cry like a teenager in front of him, so she stormed away to do so in her own room.

 

Felicity had no idea how long she sat in her shower, curled up into a ball, until the water started to turn cold. She quickly got out, put on some decent clothes and checked her phone. No call or text from Oliver. Not that she expected one, actually. But there it was again, her hoping heart taking over her rationality.  
She only had 20 minutes left until Moira would expect her downstairs, so she tried to push all her feelings aside and clear her head. She wouldn’t want to raise suspicions with any family members or the adoption counselor, so she focused on blow-drying her hair and free her face from any indications she may had been crying.

 

“Good morning Felicity, good to see you up already. I was just about to send Raisa up to let you know Miss Chandler is awaiting you.” Moira smiled at her when Felicity entered the living room and motioned for her to have a seat next to the two women.

“It’s so nice to see you again, Felicity. Though I must say, you look like you lack some sleep. I take it your birthday party last night was successful? Oh and happy belated birthday.” the counselor smiled at her and Felicity sent her a quick fake smile back.

“Yes it was. Thank you for letting me celebrate here, Thea is an outstanding party planner.” Felicity addressed Moira and earned a warm smile at that.

“Yeah, that’s what somehow scares me about my daughter,” Moira joked and gave a small, honest laugh to the counselor.

“So let’s make that quick so you can catch up on some sleep, shall we?” the counselor smiled at Felicity.

 

After a few minutes, Miss Chandler had 3 different papers sprawled on the desk in front of her and explained to both Felicity and Moira that Felicity would be signing her official release of foster care today.  
After all signatures had been made and handshakes been given, Felicity excused herself back to her room. The counselor gave her a quick hug at the door and wished her all the best for her future. When Moira sent her a slightly worried look, Felicity just leaned in and whispered “I have kind of a headache. I think the Champagne got to me.”

Moira watched her for a moment before her face softened again.  
“Alright, dear. If you feel like getting sick, please let Raisa know and she will help you with something. Unfortunately, I need to leave for the day again in an hour. The conference in Central City takes longer than anticipated. If we can’t make it back home before the night, we will call you though.” Moira gave her a warm smile, nodded and gently patted her arm before Felicity made her way upstairs to her room again, glad that Moira didn’t plan to interrogate her any further.

 

The next time Oliver awoke, the sun was already shining brightly. He sat up in bed, quickly scanned his room but couldn’t see anyone else beside him. A check on his phone showed him it was almost 9am, and that Tommy had sent a quick text.

He hopped out of bed while rubbing his eyes, padding to his bathroom to have a good hot shower to wake up. Emptying the bottle of Scotch apparently gave him a bigger headache than he expected. Under the hot spray, he recalled the events of last night. The birthday party with Thea and Felicity’s school friends. The beautiful moment between them at the stable. Felicity sitting on his lap, kissing his neck. Him fleeing the scene to get his mind under control again. Going to bed after the Party ended. Felicity slipping into his room shortly after. Letting her seduce him. Sleeping with her.

“Fuck!” he called out loud and balled his hands to fists. He should have never let that happen. 2 years he had successfully avoided letting that happen, giving in to his urges to just pin her against the nearest wall and kiss her senseless again. Especially after returning home from Europe, only to find an even more beautiful, grown up, blonde young woman rather than the brunette teenager he had left the year before. Sure, things had improved between them after they talked things out after his trip. But then it had been Felicity who told him she needed time to clear her head after everything that had happened with Dan, and Oliver understood. Actually, it helped him because the desire to make her his and shield her from everyone else became almost unbearable.

And now, after keeping her at arm’s length for so long, managing to suppress his desires for her for so long, he was so foolish to not send her back to her room but take her to bed the first moment she offered herself to him. He tried sending her back, he really tried. But the need to feel her skin, to kiss her lips again, had been too overwhelming.  
And despite all the regret he felt for sleeping with his little sister’s best friend, he couldn’t deny that he loved every minute of it. He loved how she felt, the sounds she made, how she moved under him. But still it was so wrong. This wasn’t any woman he met at a party and then took home. This was Felicity, _his_ Felicity. The woman he shooed out of his room this morning with the biggest dick move ever.

He thought about calling her, or sending a text message, to apologize for being so crude to her this morning. But he saw no other way. They would have to face each other on a daily basis after all, and until Oliver hadn’t found a way to tell his parents about this relationship, he couldn’t let that happen.

 

After spending almost 30 minutes under the shower, lost in thoughts, Oliver quickly stepped out and put on some running clothes. He needed to clear his mind and a few rounds across the Queen property should help with that. As soon as he left his room and passed Felicity’s door, he stopped.

Should he knock and see if she was okay? Of course she wasn’t. He was no idiot; he had seen her hurt and broken expression after what he said to her. He had seen the tears forming in her eyes before she ran out of his room, but he didn’t know what to say to stop them.

So he didn’t knock, he just stepped closer to the door and put an ear on it to make out any sounds. It was dead silent in the room.  
‘She’s probably catching up on some sleep.’ Oliver thought to himself before he quickly made his way down the stairs and out to the running trail.

 

Running didn’t help clearing his mind from thoughts about Felicity and last night, but it helped his body to get rid of the last remnants of the alcohol. In more than 1 hour running around, he only came to two clear thoughts.  
Felicity was the most amazing woman he had ever met and he couldn’t let her go; and he was scared as shit that his parents might not approve of their relationship.

When he returned home an hour later, breathless and drenched in sweat, he took another quick shower and went to change into jeans and a henley. He needed to talk to his best friend, the only person he could talk to about that topic. After putting all his dirty clothes in the hamper, he went to making his bed when something caught his eye.

He removed the blanket and froze in shock. His charcoal colored bed sheets were covered in small stains of blood. There wasn’t much, too less to come from an injury or cut, but enough to be noticed on his dark sheets. He couldn’t stop staring at his mattress as suddenly, it dawned on him.

“Fuck…. FUCK!” he yelled loudly and started pacing through the room frantically. How could he have not noticed? But then again, Felicity was so bold, so confident that night, he never would have guessed. And he knew she had a few boyfriends already. Not that he ever approved of any of them. But he knew she had been dating in the past. Of course he should have known better. This was Felicity he was thinking about. Of course she wouldn’t give up her virginity to her very first boyfriend after 2 or 3 weeks.

After pacing his room for what seemed like hours, Oliver pulled out his phone. He needed to call her and talk to her. If not after what he said this morning, then at least after what he discovered on his sheets. There was no way in hell he could go on without having talked to her about it.  
Of course she didn’t answer the phone. Not that he expected her to, the way he treated her earlier. But this wasn’t something he could let slip so easily, so he made his way over to her room.

He nervously knocked on her door and waited for her to answer it. The room was still dead silent. A quick hesitant look inside confirmed for him the she wasn’t in the room, even though the bed sheets were messed up. ‘So she at least must have slept in here more after she left my room.’ he thought to himself when he pulled out his phone on his way back to his room.

He quickly dialed her number again and waited for her to pick up. He had no idea if she would ever consider talking to him again after the way he treated her this morning, but he at least had to give it another try. When the call went to the Mailbox after a few rings, he tried it again. And again. After the 5th time he decided to send her a text to give him a call as soon as she’d read the message.

With a sigh, he stuffed the phone in his pocket and made his way downstairs to the kitchen. He needed a really strong coffee now and then think this through once more and figure out a way to make it up to Felicity and explain to his parents.

The house was still dead silent, only Raisa walking around, greeting him with a smile.

 

He poured himself a coffee and plopped on one of the bar stools with a sigh. While he stared into his mug, watching the steam of his coffee move up in the air, he saw Tommy enter the kitchen with a yawn.

“Morning, buddy.” Tommy grinned at him but Oliver didn’t move a muscle. He kept staring into his mug, seemingly deep in thoughts.

“What’s wrong? Rough night?” Tommy joked and shoulder bumped him after he poured himself a coffee and took a seat next to his best friend.

After another long moment, Oliver took a deep breath and nodded absently. “I did a stupid thing.”

“Spill.” Tommy just replied while blowing on his mug to cool it down.

“I slept with Felicity.” Oliver mumbled, his head bowed down, fingers playing with the handle of his coffee mug when he saw Tommy freeze next to him.

“About time!” he suddenly announced loudly with a pat on Oliver’s shoulder, but Oliver only shot him a confused look. “For how long have you two been circling around each other now? And I mean, at least you had the decency to wait until she turned 18, so kudos to you for that. I don’t know if I could have waited so long.” Tommy told him with a grin.

“She was a virgin.” Oliver replied, looking back into his mug as if it held the magical solution to all his questions.

Tommy almost choked on his coffee before he wiped his mouth and set the mug down.  
“I’m sorry, what did you just say? Coz to me it sounded like you said Felicity was still a virgin.”

“That’s what I said.” Oliver replied with a sigh, rubbing his fingers over his forehead to soothe the headache that he already sported the entire morning.

“You sound like you had no idea.” Tommy replied, watching Oliver’s reaction like a hawk.

“I didn’t.”

“Jesus…” Tommy stared at him for a moment, his face completely frozen. Apparently he was processing what Oliver just told him and Oliver had no intention to rush him to an answer, so he kept staring into his mug. After a few moments of silence, Tommy spoke up again.  
“Yeah, well… Did you guys talk?” he asked, clearly curious to hear more of the story.

“Not exactly…” Oliver mumbled.

“Oh come on, buddy. Don’t make me tear every word out of you!” Tommy mocked before taking a large gulp from his coffee.

Oliver closed his eyes and rubbed his temple once, twice, before he looked up at his best friend again.  
“She didn’t say a word about it when she came to my room last night. I tried to make her leave, multiple times, but she had… arguments. And this morning, I wake up to her looking for her clothes. And then I may or may not have said something like ‘it was just sex, don’t let us make it a big deal’ before she practically stormed out of my room. And the next thing I see are blood stains all over my sheets.” Oliver sighed and Tommy became surprisingly still next to him.  
“I am SUCH an idiot, Tommy. First I sleep with her, then I give her the dumbass speech of the century and now she won’t pick up the phone.”

“Can you blame her?” Tommy just chimed in, slowly spinning around his coffee mug on the counter.

“I slept with Thea’s best friend, Tommy! My 17-year old sister’s best friend! And I didn’t just sleep with her; I deflowered her without even knowing it! I took advantage of her! This is pretty much the lowest low I’ve ever come to.” Oliver laughed ironically with a shake of head.

“Don’t say that, buddy. Felicity is 18 years old. I’m pretty sure she can decide for herself. And you didn’t do anything illegal. And since you said she came to you I don’t think you have taken advantage of her. The dumbass speech however, well… that was pretty dumbass.” Tommy laughed lightly but Oliver just stared into his mug.

“So it was just sex? I mean, you’re practically pining after her for 2 years and now it finally happened. What does it mean to you? Or to her?” Tommy asked, his tone turning more serious. After watching his best buddy trying to stay away from his little sister’s best friend for so long he was too curious to know how things would change between these two in the future now. Obviously something had changed between them, now they just needed to figure out in which direction.

Oliver rubbed his fingers over his forehead, thinking about an answer.  
“Honestly? I have no idea and I’d say this is my least problem right now. Especially after I kicked her out of my room with that dick move earlier. I wouldn’t be surprised if she won’t talk to me ever again after that.” he sighed.

“But do you _want_ to be with her? I mean, you have to think about that before trying to talk to her. I’m sure she’ll at least expect answers – IF she’ll talk to you, of course.” Tommy added and Oliver only nodded with a sigh, thinking about his best friend’s words.

“She’s incredible, Tommy. I mean, she’s practically perfect. She’s so smart and beautiful and she makes me laugh, like really laugh. And she challenges me, it’s not that she accepts my decisions, no matter what I do. She doesn’t put up with my bullshit. It feels like she’s trying to make me a better man, but not like Laurel tried to. With Felicity it feels different, easier, more like I can stay myself but become better at the same time. But she’s still so young, and she’s living here with us, I’m sure mom and dad will kill me if they’d found out. I don’t know man, it’s messing with my head.” Oliver sighed and let his head drop on the kitchen counter with a thud.  
Tommy just nodded at Oliver’s words. He knew that feeling all too well, but that was something to discuss at a later time with his best friend. A much later time.

“Well do you want to know what I think?” Tommy replied, his fingers tracing the line of his coffee mug.  
When Oliver gave him an exhausted nod, he continued.  
“I think two years are enough time to figure out whether or not you have real feelings for someone. And since you and me both sit here right now, discussing how to solve this little Felicity-related problem of yours, I’d say the answer is pretty clear. You love her. And because of that, you shouldn’t care what anyone thinks, the very least your parents. You both are grown people. So what if your parents don’t like you being with her? It’s not that they ever approved of anyone besides Laurel. And I doubt you’re looking for a partner solely to please your parents. Besides, if they’ll take some time to see things rationally, they’ll quickly realize that you hit the jackpot with that girl and that they could never ask for a better daughter-in-law than that blonde little firecracker with a heart of gold.”

Tommy’s words seemed to hit the nail for Oliver, giving him the last push that he needed. And of course his best friend was right. He could never find a better partner than Felicity. All women he’d dated so far all faded to Felicity’s incredible character and big heart.  
Oliver didn’t reply anything to his words, but then again, Tommy’s words didn’t really required an answer, anyway.

“Was it good?” Tommy suddenly asked with a small grin on his lips and Oliver shot him a surprised look. “What? I’m just curious.” he shrugged.

“It was incredible.” Oliver smiled at him while thinking about the gorgeous blonde that felt so good under his body the last night. “I was so lost in the moment that – oh fuck!” Oliver suddenly blurted out, looking at his best friend in shock.

Tommy watched Oliver’s face turn ghost-white. “What? What’s wrong?”

Oliver let his head drop into his hands and sighed repeatedly. “We didn’t use protection.” he told his best friend, not daring to look up.

Tommy stared at Oliver for a few moments, contemplating what Oliver had just told him.  
“Well, now THAT’S a new low for you, buddy…” he replied and took another sip from his coffee when suddenly, Thea stormed into the room, putting the conversation between the men to a halt.

 

“Where is Felicity?” she asked both men with a slightly confused tone.

Oliver’s head shot up and whipped around at that, facing his little sister for the first time that day.  
“What?”

“Felicity, she isn’t in her room. And her duffel bag and some of her clothes are gone. She isn’t answering her phone. Did she leave with mom and the adoption counselor? Did something go wrong?”

Tommy and Oliver exchanged a shocked look that made Thea immediately worry even more. When they wordlessly got up from their stools, their coffee mugs long forgotten, Thea quickly followed them out of the kitchen.  
“Would anyone have the decency to tell me what’s going on?” Thea protested while she followed both men running to the foyer.

“Tommy, you check the house and property, Thea, you come with me. We’re checking the bus stations and train station of Starling City. She’s definitely not with the counselor or mom, I saw them leave separately this morning, and none had Felicity with them.” Oliver firmly instructed when he pulled Thea by the hand and dragged her behind himself to the parking lot.

“So she ran away? Why? Why now?” Thea asked Oliver, completely confused and not understanding what was going on. “Something must have happened with the counselor.”  
Oliver gritted his teeth. He knew why Felicity ran away, he knew damn well. But telling his sister what he had done was so out of the picture, so he decided to lie to her for the moment.

“I don’t know. But we’re going to find her, Speedy.”

“I’ll call as soon as I see or hear something.” Tommy called out from the mansion while he made his way upstairs, preparing to check every room in the house.

 

  
Oliver and Thea rushed to the Starling City bus station, but Felicity was nowhere to be found. Thea even showed the ticket salesman and various bus drivers a current photo of her, but no one had seen the young blonde girl with the glasses. Same thing for the train station. After leaving the stations empty handed, Thea suggested checking the Orphanage, Public Library and the Coffee Shops the girls usually frequented, but Felicity was nowhere to be found. When Oliver ran out of ideas and was ready to make his way back to the mansion, Tommy called.

Oliver quickly accepted the call and put the phone on speaker while he steered the car through the streets of Starling City.  
“She’s not in the mansion; I checked every room twice, even the basement. She isn’t in the old shed either but Oliver… one of your horses is gone.” Tommy told him through the speaker and Thea suddenly interrupted him. “Castiel? The white one?”

“Yeah, that’s the one that’s missing.” Tommy replied after a few seconds.

“We’re on our way back home.” Oliver curtly replied before ending the call.

Oliver and Thea stared at each other for a long moment.  
“She took Castiel… she could be anywhere by now, Ollie! No one knew when she left… and where she went to! And with her duffel bag gone she surely didn’t just go for a ride!” Thea cried in a panicked voice with tears starting to form in her eyes.

“Thea, calm down… we’ll find her. Can you saddle your horse and go looking for her on your trail routes? Tommy and I will be combing through the area by car then. She can’t be too far.” Oliver tried to calm her down even though his head and heart was racing, too. She ran away because of him, because he messed it up. He needed to find her or he was sure he could never sleep peacefully another night.

“Yeah, sure… of course.” Thea half sniffled while she constantly tried to reach Felicity on the phone.

“Doesn’t she pick up?”

“Mailbox.” Thea frowned. “I wonder what made her run away. Normally she would always come and talk to me. Something must have happened with that counselor.” she said while thinking about her best friend.

“Don’t worry, we **will** find her, Speedy.” Oliver assured her, completely ignoring Thea’s second question before he sped the car back into the driveway of Queen mansion. Tommy already waited for them at the front door when Oliver led him in on the plan.

 

They searched for several more hours, until the sun started to set. Thea had to return home after 4 unsuccessful hours in the saddle, riding up and down all the trails she and Felicity had frequented in the last months. Her throat hurt from calling for Felicity almost all the time and her horse definitely needed a break. Tommy and Oliver were still combing the area by car but the darker it became, the harder it was seeing something in the thick forest.

“I’m running out of gas, buddy. I need to head back and get a refill. But don’t you think we should cut it for the night and start looking for her again tomorrow morning? I can’t see anything past my headlights and if she isn’t on riding on the road, which I’m sure she won’t be doing since Felicity is smart, we won’t find her tonight anyway.” Tommy suddenly spoke up through the speaker and Oliver nodded in defeat.

“Yeah, you’re probably right. Go head back to the mansion, I’ll make my last round and will return home then as well. If I can’t find her we need to inform my parents. Could you check on Thea, maybe?”

“Sure thing, buddy. See you later.”

Oliver ended the call and slowly made his way through the small paths that led through the forest. When he was about to quit it for the night as well, he passed an old sign. He hit the brakes hard and turned the reverse gear until the sign came up next to him again.

It was an old Park sign, probably more than 20 years old. It was rusty and most of the paint had chipped off already, but he could clearly see the outlines of the forest of Starling City marked on it. The Park name wasn’t readable any more, but the sentence on the bottom of the sign made him pause.  
_‘Book your Lodge today for a great escape from the City!’_

“great escape” Oliver muttered to himself over and over when suddenly , it dawned him. He knew where Felicity was!

 

Quickly killing the engine, Oliver made his way to the trunk, pulling out one of the old maps of Starling City he luckily kept stored in there. Oliver spread the map over the hood and pulled out a pen. Thinking about what Felicity had told him about her favorite escape place almost 2 years ago, he quickly located the Queen mansion on the map. He quickly measured a distance of 20 miles and began drawing a circle in that distance around Queen mansion.  
Large portions of the area already cut short because there was either water, a Golf Course or residential areas, so riding there without being seen was out of question, but the forest on the top left corner caught Oliver’s attention. They hadn’t checked that area yet. He quickly threw everything on the passenger seat, started the engine and sped to that side of Starling City.

 

It took him another 45 minute search and two calls to Tommy to let him know he would check out another area before coming home, just to be sure, before he passed a few old Lodges and Cabins. When the roads became a lot worse and muddy, Oliver decided to park the Porsche at the main Lodge and to check out the rest of the road by foot. The flashlight he found in his car didn’t give away much light, but his phone was a great helper. After an almost 10 minute walk through mud and dirt, Oliver was about to turn and leave again, when he heard sounds coming from the near distance. He stilled completely, senses going on full alert. Even though mountain lions were rare in this area it wasn’t impossible to see one, especially at night. When the sounds came again, Oliver made a few tentative steps forward until he rounded a group of trees and could see light coming from one of the Cabins at the far end of the road. And then he spotted the bright white fur of a horse in front of the house.

“Castiel,” he mumbled to himself, “Felicity!!”

His feet were already sprinting to the Cabin when a few steps from the door, he stopped suddenly.

Should he really knock and go inside? He, of all people? He was the reason she ran away after all. But then again, they still had so many things to talk about after last night, so Oliver took a deep breath and made the last few steps to the door. Before he stepped on the front porch, he could peek through one of the windows. Felicity sat on the bed, curled up like a ball, a book in hand. He couldn’t see her eyes but he was happy that she at least seemed to be fine so far.

He quickly pulled out his phone and sent Tommy a quick text, letting him know he found her and not to tell Thea yet because he wanted to talk to Felicity first before he brought her home.

Tommy immediately replied, relieved that he found her, wishing him good luck with Felicity and letting him know Thea had already fallen asleep from exhaustion and that Moira had called, letting them know they wouldn’t make it home before the night. Oliver stuffed the phone back in his pocket and took a deep breath. He could do this.

 

When he gently knocked on the door, he could hear a sharp intake of breath, followed by a slight rustling inside the room. When the door opened a crack and Felicity peeked outside, she immediately saw Oliver standing there.

Without another word, Felicity slammed the door shut again. “Go away!” she yelled at him through the closed door and through the window Oliver could see Felicity moving back to the bed, wrapping herself in a blanket.

“Felicity, open the door.”

“Which part of _‘go away’_ don’t you understand?” she yelled back.

“This is ridiculous. I’m coming in.” Oliver announced and after a slight cracking sound, the door burst open and Oliver stood in the small Cabin.

“Awesome, now you damaged someone else’s property. What do you want, Oliver?” she sniffled between sobs, clearly trying to hide that she had been crying.

“I want to take you home, Felicity. Everyone is worried as hell about you. Thea is going insane and Tommy and I have been driving around, searching the area for more than 5 hours now.” he told her, sounding extremely exhausted.

“I am not going back, especially not with you. And you can’t force me, Oliver. I signed the release papers this morning; as of this day it’s my free decision to live where and how I want.” she told him with a firm voice, even though her posture told completely otherwise.

 

Oliver watched her closely for a few moments, then sighed, turned around and closed the half-broken door. When he turned his attention to Felicity again, she was wiping her cheeks and nose with a tissue.

“Why didn’t you tell me, Felicity?” he asked her with a warm, friendly tone.

“Tell you what?” she spat back, just looking at him for a mere second.

“You know what I’m talking about… why didn’t you tell me you were a virgin?”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Felicity’s head shot up in surprise. Considering the look on her face, she definitely didn’t expect him to start with that topic, but Oliver wasn’t about to back down. He wanted to talk to her about it and realizing she didn’t have any option to flee from the small Cabin with Oliver half shielding the door, Felicity decided to give in and reply to him, even though her defense mode kicked in.  
“Would you have slept with me had I told you?”

“Of course not!” Oliver immediately replied with a loud, exhausted voice, not thinking one second about his reply.

Felicity just waved her hand at him. “See? There you have your answer to why I didn’t tell you. Now would you please leave me alone? You made it pretty clear how you think about what happened between you and me. I already lost my face towards you, please let me at least keep my dignity and leave me alone. I promise I’ll return Castiel to the stable safely tomorrow morning and won’t take him again without prior permission.” she looked to the ground after she finished speaking, clearly not able to look him in the face any longer.

But Oliver didn’t back down.  
“Castiel is yours now, remember?” he smiled before his face turned serious again.

“Felicity, look at me.”  
He took two steps towards her and crouched down next to the bed before he continued speaking. “Did I hurt you? Your first time was supposed to be sweet and romantic and I… god… I have been so rough with you, had I known… I would have been much gentler.”

“No, you wouldn’t have. Because just two minutes ago you told me it would’ve never happened had you known. So please spare me that bullshit speech about how you wanted my first time to be perfect when you clearly regret what happened.” she snapped at him.

“I never said I regretted it.” Oliver backpedaled.

Felicity rolled her eyes and laughed ironically at his statement.  
“Yeah right, you just said _‘Hey, we’re cool, right?’_ ” she quoted him in a fake male voice. “Which is basically the same thing as telling me it was a one-time thing and I fucked it up. Pun intended.”

“You didn’t mess it up, Felicity,” he told her and slowly got up from his kneeling position in front of her, very tentatively taking a seat next to her on the bed. Felicity immediately slid away into the far corner of the mattress, putting as much space between them as possible.

“I’m sorry I turned out to be such a disappointment to you.” she told him, struggling to keep the tears at bay.

“Hey, listen to me,” Oliver began with a soft and warm voice, “For me, it was amazing. It’s just… I had done things differently with you had I known beforehand... I’d had been a lot gentler. Hell, I would have even asked you on a proper date first!”

At his words, her head snapped up. She didn’t even try and hide the tears any longer, anger about his words dwelling up in her. Of course he would have taken her on a date first. That’s what he did with each and every other girl he’d dated in the past. She was just another one of _these_ girls. The thought made something inside her snap.  
“No! I’m not one of those STD infested imbeciles you used to fuck and dump all the time, and yet you treated me exactly like one of them this morning! And you know what, Oliver? That was the last nail in the coffin. I’m done. After every stunt you pulled with me in the last 2 years, by kissing me first and then always telling me we can’t be together for whatever reasons, the stuff you said this morning definitely takes the cake. And I’m done. I’m sick and tired of being played around because you can’t seem to make up your mind once and for all. I’m sick of being treated like shit because you aren’t man enough to tell me what you really want - or don’t want, for that matter - from me. I am 18 years old, Oliver! Tell me what I have done to deserve having my heart broken over and over by the man I fell in love with?” she yelled at him through sobs and sniffles, unable to keep the tears - and her anger - at bay any longer. This was officially the worst day in her life and she couldn’t wait for it to be over. Tomorrow would be a better day. It had to be, because it certainly couldn’t get worse.

 

Oliver took a step back at her harsh and loud words. He had never seen her so angry yet heartbroken at the same time, and the fact that it was all his doing made him wanting to kick himself. But - did she really just say she loved him? Words had been flying out of her mouth so fast his brain could barely keep up, but _this_ , this he’d heard loud and clear. For some reason he just never thought he’d hear her say it, not with the way he had treated her the last 2 years. And just thinking about it made his gut wrench even more.

Quickly gathering his thoughts again, he slid back next to her, slowly pulled one of her hands out of her lap and wrapped it in his palms. Her fingers were ice cold and her hand was shaking and depending on the crumpled tissues strewn all over the bed, she had been crying for quite a while now.

“Please go away.” she whispered through tears, her voice already past the verge of cracking.

“Felicity,” Oliver began after swallowing the lump in his throat, “You’re not like this. You never have been. You’re not some random chick that I spend the night with and then never call again. You’re far too important to me, you always have been. Please don’t degrade yourself like that, sweetheart.” he told her in a gentle tone while his thumbs stroked her palm. Felicity didn’t move, though. She sat next to him on the mattress, completely stiff, staring into her lap.

After a moment, Felicity just slightly shook her head in disbelief and tried to pull her hand out of Oliver’s grip, but he held her firmly in his palms. “You don’t have to feel obligated to take me on a date or something, Oliver. You owe me nothing.”

Oliver stared at her for a moment after what she said.  
“Of course I do! I took away something so precious and unique from you, and I would love to make it up to you.” he told her in a slow and calm voice but Felicity’s head suddenly snapped up at that, her eyes turning to an angry glare again within a second. She forcefully pulled her hand out of his grip, tightly folding it with the other in her lap.

“Wait, are you saying you want to date me and then sleep with me a couple more times to make up for the ‘shitty first time’ which, by the way, was pretty much perfect to me?” she snapped at him.

“Felicity,” he suddenly cut her off, wrapping her face in his palms, pressing his lips firmly on hers. She froze on the spot, her lips unmoving until Oliver pulled back after a few seconds, keeping her face firmly wrapped in his large palms. “I am not trying to lure you into my bed and I’m not trying to make up for anything.” he smiled at her and looked her straight in the eyes and Felicity had no chance to look away, even if she tried to.  
“You know how I feel about you, and that feeling hasn’t changed one bit.”

“No, I don’t, Oliver.” she interrupted him, sadness covering her eyes. “Because you never told me.”

“I can’t get you out of my head, Felicity. Not only since last night but for a very long time now. I was a complete idiot this morning, I fell back into my old habits but I’m not like that anymore. I changed. And I know you know it, too. I tried to fight feeling these things for you, I really did, but after last night, when you came into my room, I just… I couldn’t resist any longer. And it scares me, Felicity. You’re so young and you’re Thea’s best friend and –“

“And we come from two different worlds and I’ll never be as gorgeous as Laurel or as fierce as Sara. I get it, Oliver. You don’t need to remind me.” she frowned and removed his hands from her face and got up from the bed to walk over to the window. She stared out of it, watching Castiel graze in the darkness when she felt Oliver step up behind her.

He gently put his hand on her shoulder and turned her around. She kept her face down, giving him no chance to look her in the eyes.

“Felicity, listen to me.” he gently tipped her chin upwards and made her face him while he spoke. “We don’t come from two different worlds. You’re as much in my world as I am in yours. And don’t ever compare yourself with women like Laurel or Sara, or anyone else, for that matter. They have nothing on you and there’s a reason these women are my ex-girlfriends.” he smiled at her. “I want you, for so long now. But in my head I found so many reasons why I could never have you, why I’m never good enough for you. And then you took that decision away from me by coming to my room last night and now I don’t think I could live another moment knowing you in someone else’s arms.” Oliver admitted. “I love you. I have for a long time now.”

He looked into her eyes and tried to read anything in them besides the confusion that was written all over her face. And he hoped she would see the sincerity in his eyes with that he spoke. When he could see her mouth open and close a few times, unable to form her thoughts to sentences, Oliver continued speaking.  
“Tell me what you feel, Felicity. Tell me how you feel about me – about us.” he asked her and if his voice was any indication, she could see how nervous he was.

 

But Felicity took a step back from him and held up a hand between them. “I can’t, Oliver. I’m not going to deepen the hole I already digged myself this morning, by telling you my feelings about you now. The last 24 hours have been embarrassing enough for me and I’m not going to be that naïve and foolish again.” she shook her head and tried turning away from him, only to be stopped by his hands on her shoulders.

“Hey, you’re not naïve or foolish. I just… I need to know we’re on the same page about this. I can’t do this without knowing how you think about it, Felicity, no matter how you decide.”

“How I decide?” she asked him in confusion.

“Yeah I mean, if you want to give us a try or if we should find a way to stay friends and start all over again. I will accept your decision, no matter how it may be.”  
In reality he hoped she would give them a try. But even if she decided against it, he would at least try and keep her in his life. Knowing her away from him was something Oliver didn’t want to think about at that moment.

Felicity looked up at him in total confusion at that. Had she heard him right? After the speech he gave her this morning, how could he have changed his mind so fast?  
“You… you would want to give us a try? After what you told me this morning? Is this what you really want? Or what you think is the right move of damage control?” she asked him and Oliver could see a flicker of hope in her eyes, safely hidden behind the wariness and confusion.

“I was a complete idiot this morning. I was confused and overwhelmed – and I freaked out. I never meant to hurt you, or scare you away like that, it’s just… I couldn’t think straight at that moment. And I’m sorry, Felicity.” Oliver slowly took her hands in his and intertwined his fingers with hers. “And yes, I would very much want to give us a try – if you’re willing to try with me.”

Felicity tried to find the right words and struggled once again.  
“I… are… are you sure you really want this? Because, no offense Oliver, you’ve changed your opinion pretty fast in the last 24 hours and I… I don’t want my heart broken again. What if in one week you decide I’m too young for you? Or you want to be with a more experienced woman? I just… I don’t know, I’m scared.” she frowned and let her head fall.

 

Oliver tipped her chin up once more and slowly placed his lips over hers. She froze for just a second until she opened up to him, letting him deepen the kiss. He let go of one of her hands and gently wrapped his fingers around her neck to pull her closer to him. He could feel her grab his shirt and cling to it and it made him smile.

When he had to pull back for air after a few moments, he looked down at her. Her lips were swollen, her pupils blown and she had the sweetest blush on her cheeks.

“Don’t be scared, Felicity. For two years I had to force myself to stay away from you, I would be crazy if I’d let you go now that I have you.”

 

Now it was her turn to firmly press her lips onto his, spurred on by Oliver’s words. He wrapped his arms around her and pressed her to his chest while Felicity wrapped her hand around his neck and shoulder and held to him like her life depended on it. They stayed like that for long moments, until Felicity heard the first heavy drops of rain crash down on the roof of the cabin. She reluctantly pulled back from Oliver and took a step backwards to check the window.

“I need to get Castiel inside; he’ll get sick out there with the wind and rain.” Felicity announced and was almost out the door when Oliver followed her.  
Within seconds, the rain had turned into a heavy downpour and Felicity quickly ran over to the stallions’ pasture. While she got the horse into the stall next to the cabin, Oliver waited inside. After looking around for a moment, fully taking in the small wooden home for the first time, he decided to light the small fireplace to warm up the room. Starling City cooled down a lot during the night in September and after he felt Felicity’s freezing hands, he wanted to make sure she’d stay warm for the night.  
When she returned a few minutes later, completely soaked, Oliver already had the fire going and sat on the small couch in front of it.

As soon as he saw her close the door, leaving a trail of water behind her, he jumped to action.

“Jesus Christ, you’re completely drenched! We need to get you out of your clothes or you’ll be sick by tomorrow morning!” he told her and immediately started peeling off the multiple layers of clothing that clung to her body. They all landed on the floor in a wet heap, until she stood in front of him in nothing but her black bra and panties. She immediately started shaking and Oliver wrapped her in a blanket and placed her in front of the fireplace so she could warm up.

“I’ll go and find some more blankets.” he told her while he picked up her wet clothes and descended into the side room.  
Felicity warmed her frozen limbs at the fire and tugged herself deeper into the blanket while she waited for Oliver to return. After a few minutes he came back with some fresh clothes, two mugs of tea and two more blankets.

“Where did you find all that?” she asked him when he handed her a mug.

“In your duffel bag.” he smiled. “Oh, and in the closet in the storage room.”

He sat down next to her on the couch and handed her her clothes while he threw the blankets over the back of the couch. “Go on, change into something dry and warm.”

 

When Felicity returned, dressed in her sweatpants and a longsleeve shirt, Oliver had already built them a fortress of blankets and pillows in front of the fireplace. As soon as he spotted her, he put his phone back into his pocket and gave her a smile when she took a seat next to him and grabbed her mug again.

“Who was that?” she asked him, trying to sound casual even though she was still nervous Oliver wasn’t sure about her and might be texting some other girl.

Oliver pulled her into his side and wrapped his arm around her shoulders while she sipped on her tea.

“I was just texting Tommy, letting him know I found you and that we’re going to stay the night because of the rain. You can’t ride back home in the darkness and that rain and I doubt you would agree on leaving Castiel here, so I figured I’d let Tommy know.” Oliver smiled at her.

“Well, you guessed right. He’s still the most important man in my life, so…” she half grinned while she blew on her tea, glancing a look at him out of the corner of her eye.

Oliver snorted. “So I have to compete against a horse now?”

Felicity actually had to laugh at that. It was the first real, honest laugh he had heard from her in a while now and he realized how much he loved making her laugh.  
“Let’s just say you and Castiel are the two most important men in my life. Would that work?”

Oliver just groaned which made Felicity laugh even more. “God, I love your growly, caveman- behavior.” she giggled.

“Oh I’ll show you caveman.” Oliver suddenly smirked, took the mug from her hands and tackled her onto her back, keeping her hands firmly pinned above her head before he lowered his lips onto hers and took her breath away with a fierce kiss.

When he let go of her lips for a moment and looked down at her, Felicity smiled up at him with the most adorable blush he’d ever seen. Her lips were red and looked thoroughly kissed, her glasses slightly askew, her hair tousled in all directions. And just at that moment he realized how much he loved Felicity Smoak and how much time he had already wasted denying himself this amazing woman.  
“God, I love you.” he smiled at her, tucking a loose curl behind her ears. Even though she hadn’t said it back yet, at least not directly, Oliver had absolutely no doubt that Felicity felt the same about him. And after everything that had happened he couldn’t blame her if she needed time until she could say it.

 

Unable to move her wrists, Felicity wrapped her legs around his hips and tried to pull him down on her. When he let go of one of her hands to cup her breast over the Shirt, Felicity sneaked her hand in between them, going straight for his belt buckle.

“Felicity, we shouldn’t – “ Oliver stopped her and leaned up, but she was having none of that.

“Are we doing this all over again?” she asked him with a stern voice. “You said you wanted to make it perfect and take your time… well, now’s your chance.”

“But not in a rustic cabin, on a shredded carpet.” Oliver shook his head and sat upright.

Felicity leaned on her elbows and looked him straight in the eyes. “Oliver, we’re alone in an old cabin, deep in the woods, lying in front of a fireplace, while it’s pouring outside. I’d say it doesn’t get any more romantic than this.” she smiled at him and after a few seconds of consideration, she could see the moment Oliver gave in. He leaned back down to capture her lips once more before he stopped again.

“Are you really sure?”

“Yes, Oliver. I am really sure.” she smiled at him and Oliver couldn’t see any flicker of doubt or fear in her eyes, so he gave in and leaned down fully.

 

After kissing for a while, hands flying all over each others bodies, hips grinding into each other, Oliver suddenly pulled back and stopped all movements, making Felicity look up in surprise.

“What’s wrong?”

“Last night,” he nervously began, “we… we didn’t use protection.” he mumbled, almost too scared to see the same shock on her face that Oliver had sported earlier with Tommy, knowing they would have to do something about it soon to prevent a possible pregnancy. He really didn’t want to put Felicity through that, especially not at her young age, and not by his fault.

When her facial expression changed from confused to relaxed, though, Oliver let himself breathe again for a moment.  
“I’m on the pill, Oliver. Everything’s fine. I may be a naïve idiot sometimes, but I’m not THAT stupid.” she smiled.

Oliver let out a breath of relief at that. Of course she would be taking care of things, this was Felicity. _His Felicity._

“But why are you taking the pill if you’re – “

“Really, Oliver?” she asked him with a cocked eyebrow. “You want to talk about THAT now? I’m taking it to regulate my cycle, not because I was hoping to have unprotected sex with you. Well…” she mumbled while shrugging slightly and Oliver shut her up with a fierce kiss.

“I promise you I’m clean,” he suddenly mumbled and pulled back from her lips, looking her in the eyes. “Tommy and I get tested once a year, and I haven’t been with anyone since you walked in on me and Amber.”

That made her look up in surprise.  
“Oliver! That has been almost two years ago!”

His entire face turned up into a warm smile.  
“I told you I’ve been into you for longer than you can imagine. No woman could ever hold my interest for more than two minutes, and I could have never done that to you, even if we weren’t together. So yeah, it has been a little while.” he laughed slightly and the almost shy blush that crept up his cheeks warmed Felicity’s heart.  
“Now where were we? Ah, right.”  
His lips wandered down her throat to her collarbone and back up to her neck. Felicity eagerly tilted her head to give him leverage while Oliver ravished her neck.

“Do you know what they say about the first time?” he mumbled into her ear while trailing wet spots over her neck with his tongue.

“N-no…” Felicity stammered back, too overwhelmed by the feeling Oliver’s tongue created on her neck.

“They say that the second time is always better.”

“Well, considering that my first time was pretty much perfect… I doubt that.” she mumbled back between slight moans and deep breaths. The soft crackling of the fireplace and the sound of raindrops pattering down on the roof of the cabin were the only noises surrounding them, and they made the situation even more romantic for Felicity.

“I’m going to show you. And this time, I’m going to take all the time in the world.” Oliver whispered back and Felicity could feel his content smile on her neck while his hands sneaked under her shirt.

 

Oliver was on his way to making love to her. He caressed her body with such tenderness and care, as if he wanted to pour every single ounce of feeling he had for her, as if he wanted to make up for everything he couldn’t give her at her first time. The look of pure adoration and hunger with that he took in her body made her smile. She had never seen him look at her like that, and it certainly helped her with her sudden nervousness at being completely naked in front of him.

With a warm smile on his lips, he leaned down and captured her mouth in another bruising kiss.  
“Are you nervous?” he asked her when he felt her heart beating like a drum under his palm.

Felicity nodded shyly, suddenly feeling a lot more nervous than she did the night before, when she so boldly walked up to his room and did exactly what she wanted. Now, she was starting to shake like a nervous wreck, and she had no idea why.

“Me too.” Oliver confessed with a small smile when he looked down at her. When Felicity frowned at him, he tucked a blonde lock behind her ear and looked her straight in the eyes. “I’ve had sex in the past, but I’ve never made love. So this will be a first for the both of us.” He smiled and captured her lips once again, making sure not to leave any part of her body unkissed that night.

 

\----------------------------------------------

 

Felicity woke up early in the morning as the sun was rising. After taking in her surroundings, she realized Oliver and her were completely entwined together. His hand was curled up under her breast, just barely touching it. It felt so good to her that she didn't want to get up. But she had to go the bathroom, so she carefully wiggled her way out.

Oliver didn't stir. He just mumbled and turned over onto his back, flinging one hand up by the side of his head. God, he was gorgeous in sleep, with his hair all tousled. She had to tear herself away to go to the bathroom, and as soon as she was finished she came back and stared at him some more. The first night that they spent together had been cut off by his early departure, not giving them any time in the morning. The other night she fled his room after waking up, so of course she’d make the best of it and watch him sleep the moment she got the chance to.

 

Felicity had once read somewhere that if you stared at someone too much while they are sleeping, they’d wake up. As if part of them knows they're being stared at or something. Not wanting to wake him up and possibly risking of that delicate bubble they had built the night before to explode, Felicity reluctantly stopped staring at him and crawled back into bed, snuggling into his side again.

He reached for her in his sleep, naturally bringing her toward him until her head rested on his chest. It made her smile, finally feeling so intimately caged in by the man she longed for more than 3 years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be travelling for a few days and I'm not sure if I can post the next Chapter within a week from now on, though I'll try my best.
> 
> Also, this Story is slowly, very slowly coming to an end. There are probably 4 or 5 more Chapters and we're done - whew!


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaand here we have another Chapter. :)  
> Sorry for the delay, I took a little break from writing. :)
> 
> Since so many people asked me about my other fic, The Blind Side, I actually started working on that one again, too. It still might take a little while until I'll post another Chapter there, but with only 3 more Chapters to go in this Story, I'll have more time for The Blind Side, soon. :)
> 
> So for now, enjoy this Chapter! :)

Felicity awoke to the first rays of the morning sun streaming through the thin curtains of the cabin, Oliver’s warm body snuggled against her back, his arm draped over her waist, pulling her close to him. She craned her neck and looked over her shoulder to find him looking at her, his eyes still sleep ridden, a small smile tugging at his lips.

“Hi,” he smiled at her and tucked a stray lock behind her ear.

“Hi.” she smiled back, a small blush coloring her cheeks.  
When Oliver leaned forward to kiss her, though, she quickly hid her mouth behind the sheets.  
“Morning breath.” she mumbled shyly, making him chuckle.

Felicity leaned back into the pillow and looked out of the window to the birds chirping outside.  
“It’s a beautiful morning.”

“Not nearly as beautiful as you are.”

“Yeah, sure.” she snorted. “I’m pretty sure my hair's a mess, I have pillow imprints on my cheek and I definitely need to take a shower. Not very beautiful.”

“You’re perfect.” he smiled and pulled her closer to his chest again, peppering her head with kisses.

“I never want to leave this place.” she mumbled with a sigh. Oliver understood this all too well. Going back to the mansion meant having to leave the bubble of blissfulness they were currently floating in, it meant things had to change. Not between them, even though they still would’ve to find a way to keep their relationship a secret until they figured out how to announce it. But going back meant they couldn’t fall asleep like that every night again, much less wake up together. Not if they didn’t want to be caught.

“Yeah, me neither.” Oliver whispered back.

 

After snuggling into each other for a little longer, both trying to prolong the inevitable, Oliver and Felicity got up and dressed in silence. Her stomach growled loudly and she craved a large cup of coffee, but being with Oliver made her morning nothing but perfect.

“Is this really what you want?” she asked him while saddling Castiel, keeping her eyes solely on the horse while she spoke, “I’m still a lot younger than you and I don’t want to get hurt if you’ll realize in a few weeks that you’ll like us better off as friends or something. I would be okay if you’d told me now, Oliver, really,” she rambled and nervously fidgeted with a loose stirrup of Castiel’s saddle. Of course that was a complete lie and Felicity knew that, if Oliver decided to tell her now that being together wouldn’t work for him, she’d probably be seconds away from a total breakdown and would leave Starling City - this time for good.

Oliver had no idea where Felicity’s sudden doubts once again came from, but he wasn’t going to let her get away and head back to the mansion with thoughts like these.  
With a few quick strides he was over at her side and had her in his arms.  
“Hey, I told you last night and I’ll tell you again. You’re not too young for me, Felicity, you never have been. In the eye of the law that might have been the case until last night, but to me, you’re a very mature young lady that had always intrigued me, even when you were barely 16 years old. And trust me,” he smiled, “THAT gave me quite a few sleepless nights. My whole body tried fighting being attracted to a 16-year old girl, but I couldn’t help it. You were just… you. And to this day, every part of you fascinates me. I don’t care what other people think, especially not when it comes to you. And I would be the world’s biggest idiot if I’d let you go now that I have you. Especially after realizing that the best thing I could ever have has been right in front of me all this time.” he smiled and peppered her head with small kisses before hugging her a little tighter.

 

“Please be careful, okay?” Oliver patted her shoulder and watched her mount Castiel. He didn’t like letting her make the trail back home on her own, but they didn’t have any other option with Castiel being with them.

“This isn’t the first time I’m riding alone, you know.” she chuckled. “There’s no need to worry.”

“Just make sure you’ll get back home quick, alright?” he told her, pulling on her arm to place a last kiss on her lips before he watched her lead Castiel down the trail back to the mansion.

 

2 hours later, a crowd of people awaited her at the mansion, and aside from Thea, Felicity wasn’t too interested to talk to anyone. Thankfully, Tommy had sent a short text message while she was on her way, letting her know Moira and Robert were already back and wondering where she was. Thea had come up with a quick lie, telling them that Felicity wanted to spend some time to herself before starting the day with the entire family over lunch.  
So when she arrived back at the stables, one of the handlers quickly took Castiel away from her and ushered her back into the house. With Oliver taking her duffel bag she luckily didn’t have to carry anything that would’ve raised questions.

 

When Oliver and Tommy walked into the room to join them for lunch, Felicity had to force away the blush that crept up her cheeks the moment their eyes met. Focusing her attention on her best friend, she didn't miss the very suspicious grin parked on Thea's face that no doubt had something to do with the man sitting next to Oliver at the table.  
“We’re so going to talk later.” she leaned into her friend and whispered, making Thea almost choke on her drink.

“Oh we sure are,” Thea whispered back with a wink. “I want to know everything as well, except for the little details no sister should know about her brother.”

Both girls chuckled and laughed and when Felicity looked over the table, she saw Oliver watching them, smiling at her. For a moment, it all appeared like the perfect day where nothing could go wrong. Too bad they still had to figure out a way to tell Moira and Robert about their relationship.

 

That afternoon, after Moira and Robert left for work again, the men joined Thea and Felicity at the pool. Normally Tommy and Oliver both had to work that day, but since Robert didn’t exactly request Oliver’s presence at the company, and Tommy’s father was out of country, anyway, the men decided to enjoy the afternoon in the sun instead of donning business suits, having to work for their fathers.

 

“What happened to careless _‘I don’t do relationships’_ – Oliver?” Tommy casually asked while he sipped on his beer, watching the two women in the pool enjoying themselves.

“That guy fell in love, apparently.” Oliver mumbled back with a smile.

Tommy looked at him for a moment, clearly surprised to hear these words coming out of the mouth of his best friend.  
“So I assume I don’t need to try and hook you up with other girls any longer?” he asked, a hint of amusement playing in his voice.

“I have the perfect one right here,” Oliver replied and pointed towards the pool with the neck of his bottle, “I have for a long while now.”

“Sappy idiot.” Tommy chuckled and clinked his bottle to Oliver’s. “Any idea how to drop that bomb on your parents? I can imagine they won’t be too thrilled.”

“I planned to talk to Felicity about that later, see how she wants to do it. I don’t want to drop that over her head. Besides, she’s the smarter one of us, so I’m sure she’ll come up with a better plan than I do.” Oliver shrugged.

“No shit,” Tommy grinned. “I’d say it’ll be smartest idea to let Felicity tell them. They won’t rip her head off; with you, I’m not so sure though.”

Tommy actually had a point, Oliver realized. Chances were more likely that his parents would royally kick his ass if he told them about the relationship, but with Felicity they’d be definitely less angry. But then again, it wasn’t her job to tell them, and letting her do it only to avoid any anger would be way too chicken for him.  
Deciding to discuss things later with Felicity, Oliver pushed the nagging thoughts about his parents reaction aside and enjoyed the rest of the afternoon with the only people who didn’t judge them, something he was very grateful for.

 

The perfect peacefulness lasted exactly two weeks.  
Two weeks in where Oliver and Felicity could enjoy the perks of being in love, not having to hide their feelings from each other any longer. Now they only had to hide them from Oliver’s parents, something that quickly turned into a sweet game between the two. Every time that Felicity secretly played footsie with Oliver under the table to make him choke on his drink or lose concentration whenever he was talking to Moira or Robert, Oliver made sure to nonchalantly pinch her butt in passing whenever he found her talking to her foster-mother, making her blush instantly.

Every evening, Felicity sneaked out of her room and tip-toed over to Oliver’s. Every night they fell asleep together in his bed, but each morning Felicity made sure to slip back into her room unseen before Raisa would come upstairs and wake the girls for school.  
Whenever he had the chance to, Oliver picked her up from school and took her out for lunch. Felicity protested at some point, telling him Thea already missed spending time with her, but Oliver always replied that these lunch dates were to make up for all the missed times in the past 2 years and that Thea would understand.  
It all felt like floating in a bubble of love for Felicity, especially with all the sneaking out of the house and into the garden shed so they could fool around without being caught. At that point, still only Thea and Tommy knew about their relationship, and both Felicity and Oliver knew they couldn’t hide the secret from his parents for much longer.

“We need to tell them soon.” Felicity whispered when Oliver hopped out of the pool and walked over to grab a towel.

“I know. And we will. Let’s see if we can catch them after dinner on friday, okay?” he smiled, leaned down over her on the lounge bed and stole a quick kiss from her, making her giggle when drops of water rained down on her.

 

When Oliver returned from the gym later that day, Moira and Robert both sat at the large dining table, their faces grim and hard. Robert never showed too much expression when Oliver walked into the room, so he didn’t give it much thought, but the moment he saw Moira’s face equally hard and without a hint of a smile playing on it, he knew something was up.  
“Is everything okay?” Oliver asked into the room when he walked inside.

Robert didn’t answer but his face turned into an even harder stare the moment Oliver arrived at the table. Moira cleared her throat once, looked over at her husband and motioned for Oliver to sit down.  
“Have a seat, please, Oliver. There’s something we need to talk about.”  
The tone in her voice made him instantly aware that something definitely didn’t sit well with them. Moira very rarely used that hard voice with either of her children and Oliver had no idea when she’d last use it with him. Without any idea what was going on, he took a seat opposite of his parents, waiting for either of them start to speak.  
“I saw you and Felicity by the pool earlier.” Moira suddenly spoke up and within an instant, it felt like the ground had been pulled from under his feet. Trying to cover up the shock of being exposed, he swallowed the once and looked his mother square in the eye. Having seen them together meant nothing. It wasn’t unusual for them to spent the afternoon together by the pool. They did that all the time.

“Okay. So?” he asked with half a shrug, feigning cluelessness.

“You know exactly what your mother is talking about!” Robert suddenly yelled so loudly, his fist slamming on the table so hard, Oliver actually flinched back for a second. He had never seen his father so mad before, but then again he was already used to his father’s disapproval towards anything he did.  
“Your mother saw you kissing Felicity by the pool.” Robert continued, not even giving Moira the chance to speak up. “This is unacceptable, son.” he spoke with a firm, authoritative voice. Oliver knew that voice all too well, since it was the normal tone he used whenever Oliver was around at work. It also meant that Oliver was completely unfazed by it.

Did he expect such a turnout when he played the reaction of his parents out in his head? Absolutely. Did he care that his parents obviously not agree with the relationship? Of course. But that sure as hell didn’t mean he would obey his father’s wishes. He’d long stopped doing that.  
“I didn’t exactly have to ask you for permission, dad.” he replied, looking his father square in the eye. “And it’s not that we’re breaking any laws. Felicity is 18 years old, and you never adopted her, so even though she’s been living here with us, she’s not my adoptive sister. Not even technically, actually, since she signed the foster care release papers a week ago. As of now she’s nothing more than an adult living under our roof.” Oliver replied with a firm voice, trying to keep his brain focused and his nerves in check. He couldn’t afford to lose his confidence in front of his parents, and thanks to Felicity, he had good arguments to shut them up. Not that he was particularly keen to use them at that moment.  
They had planned to do that on the weekend, together, so they could support each other. Now, sitting alone in front of his parents definitely wasn’t the way he preferred things to go, but if it meant that their relationship could finally come out of hiding, then Oliver would gladly fight his father over it.

It seemed to work, too, when Robert wordlessly listened to everything Oliver told him. Not even giving away one emotion, Robert watched his son for a moment before he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.  
“You think you have that planned out well, don’t you, son? Well I am sorry to disappoint you, but I am not going to accept this relationship between her and you under my roof! We didn’t take Felicity into our family and helped her become the successful young woman she is now, only to lose her to the wrong path because you’re in need of a fresh fling, Oliver!” Robert snapped at his son. Moira stayed surprisingly silent next to her husband. “Even if we put aside the fact that the girl is barely 18 years old -”

“Mom is 8 years younger than you are!” Oliver shot back, suddenly feeling like having to defend himself.

“Don’t interrupt me!” Robert snapped. “Even if we ignored that fact, tell me, Oliver, what do you think you could do to help that young girl to mature further into the woman she should become? What is it exactly that you can offer her, huh? Because, let’s face it, aside from skipping classes at college and travelling the world when you should be studying isn’t exactly a skill to adorn yourself with.” Robert smirked, and Oliver had to ball his hands into fists to under the table to keep himself in check. This was getting out of hand. He knew their parents would be hard to convince, but this right now? This was ridiculous.  
“If I hadn’t given you this job at Queen Consolidated, you wouldn’t even have a decent work to pride yourself with. So I’m asking you again, Oliver, what do you think you could offer that girl that she couldn’t better get herself?”

“His love.” it suddenly piped up from the end of the room, making all 3 heads at the table snap around.

The moment Oliver looked into Felicity’s eyes, all the anger dissipated from him. One look was all it took to calm his nerves and pull him back again. Robert’s face instantly lost its hardness and Moira got up to walk around the table, but Felicity’s raised hand stopped her.  
“I’m not going to discuss this any further, and neither does Oliver.” she spoke with a small smile to Oliver after overlooking the table. “He already said everything that needed to be said. I’m old enough to make my own decisions, and I really hope you’ll support me like you did all those years. I am extremely grateful for everything you’ve done for me and I will be forever thankful for taking me into your family so self-evidently.” she smiled, turning her attention towards Moira, who instantly smiled back.  
“But my relationship with Oliver is no one’s business, and we won’t let others dictate our lives.”  
With that, she grabbed Oliver’s hand, pulled him off the chair and out of the room, leaving a very stunned Moira and Robert behind.

 

They moment they rounded the corner and stepped into the hallway though, she let go of his hand and turned around.  
“What was that?” she whispered and looked over Oliver’s shoulder, making sure no one was listening to them.

“They saw us by the pool,” he replied and grabbed her hand. “Come on, let’s get out of here. I have no desire to have dinner with anyone besides you, after what just happened.”

 

Despite the tumultuous afternoon and the fact that there was an undeniable tension palpable in the mansion, Felicity and Oliver could spend their first full night together in his room without having to fear of being caught. For the first time, Oliver could kiss his girl goodbye when she left for school and didn’t have to worry if someone other than his sister might see them.

“Felicity is a good girl,” Raisa had told him later, after he kissed her in the foyer when she and Thea left for school. “you are a lovely couple.”

“My parents seem to disagree.” he sighed and went to help Raisa putting his fresh clothes into the drawers.

“Time will change that.” she smiled. Her smile and voice was so confident, way more than Oliver felt about the situation.

“You are a good boy, with a good heart,” she smiled at him and patted his arm gently before stepping back to the door. “Felicity will be safe and happy with you. Your parents will realize that soon, too.”

 

\---------------------------------------------

 

When Thea came up with the idea of getting away from Starling City for a bit, after yet another angry staredown between Oliver and his father during dinner, Felicity gladly accepted.  
So Thea talked to her mother and managed to get them a few days off so the girls could leave for Paris. It surprised her at first that Moira so quickly agreed to let them skip school on thursday and friday, but then Moira told her that it’d probably a good idea to get Felicity out of the field of fire for a little while to help things calm down at the mansion, and it all made sense to Thea.

Even though she was excited, saying goodbye to Oliver for a few days wasn’t something Felicity was too excited about.  
“I feel terrible, letting you alone here right now.” she sighed and buried her head in his chest. “Robert will rip your head off, and I don’t want to let you do this alone.”

“I’m not doing this alone, remember?” he mumbled into her hair and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tighter into his chest. “I’ve got you now. And what kind of boyfriend would I be if I’d need my girlfriend’s help to defend myself against my own father?” he chuckled. “It’s gonna be fine. I can manage dad’s little rants. I’m more concerned about you being away from me for 5 whole days.”

Oh don’t be a baby,” she laughed and slapped him on the chest lightly. “You left me for 12 freaking months. I think you’ll be just fine with me being gone for only 5 days.”

“Could you stop smooching and check in your luggage, please?” Thea suddenly piped up with a raised eyebrow. “It’s not that the plane will wait for us, you know.”  
With a snicker, Felicity stole one last kiss from Oliver before she pulled back and went over to the check-in point.  
“See you in 5 days?”

“See you in 5 days.” he smiled, even though he didn’t feel too happy leaving her to hop a plane and fly to Paris without him.

“Keep a close eye on them, will you?” Oliver addressed John Diggle earning a firm nod from the bodyguard.

As soon as the girls and John Diggle were out of sight, Oliver left the airport as well, heading back to Queen Consolidated. He wasn’t particularly interested to work that afternoon, not after having to drop off his girlfriend at the airport, but since Robert was still out of town, it at least would be a calm afternoon at the office and he could get some of the work done that had piled up, maybe even distracting him a little.

 

\---------------------------------------------

 

“Even though I just slept 5 hours, I still feel crazy tired.” Felicity yawned when the cab drove them through the streets of Paris, right to their hotel.

“That’s normal with a jetlag.” John chuckled slightly, taking in the sight of the two very sleepy women sitting next to him. “It’s important to stay awake now and go to bed as soon as the sun sets, then your body will have accustomed to the different time zone by the morning.”

“You sound like you’ve done this before.” Thea mused from the sight, fighting hard to keep her eyes open.

“Plenty of times, actually. But it’s my first time being to Paris, so I’m just as excited as you girls are.”

“To go shopping for dresses and high heels?” Thea snorted, and John’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.

“That’s the only reason you’re here? Geez, I’ll have to take you the eiffel tower at least or your mother will scold me for not doing any proper activities.” he sighed and rubbed his forehead.

“Don’t listen to her,” Felicity laughed and lightly smacked Thea on the arm. “Of course we’ll do some sightseeing, too. I’d love to see the eiffel tower. I heard they light him up for a few minutes every night, I’d love to see that.” she smiled, earning an almost relieved look from their bodyguard. Thea, though, only groaned at that statement.

 

As soon as they checked into their room, with John Diggle just one door next to them, the girls both decided to check out to the Hotel restaurant, grab a quick dinner and head to bed early. After sending Oliver a quick text, letting him know they landed safely and already checked into their room, the girls knocked on John’s room and convinced him to have dinner with them. Since he was the only one who spoke fluent french, the girls didn’t want to accidentally order something weird or embarrass themselves in front of the waiters.

During dinner, the girls chatted lightly about Paris and all the things they wanted to do, while John tried to hide his worry about having to follow the girls from one shoe store to the next. Making a mental note to ask Moira for a raise as soon as they were back in Starling City, he zoned out of the conversation between the girls and focused on the steak in front of him.

 

John’s advice turned out to be just right. The next morning, the girls woke up with fresh energy, both feeling relaxed and well rested. Since John had grabbed breakfast already, the girls decided to order up. With Thea’s more than sparse french-language skills, they ended up ordering almost everything the hotel served for breakfast.  
Deciding to send Oliver a quick text instead of calling him, given the time difference, Felicity added a picture of the several trays covering their bed, and a few words to wake him up and wish him a lovely day.  
When Thea announced the (shopping) plans for the day, John kept a straight face, even though Felicity could see how much he dreaded having to follow them from shop to shop. With a grin playing on her lips, she decided to loosen up Thea’s strict plans later by adding a little sightseeing here and there so Diggle wouldn’t completely die of boredom.

 

When Oliver woke up to a text message and a picture from his girlfriend, his mood instantly picked up a notch. Sleeping alone turned out to be something Oliver didn’t like too much, at least not after he spent almost every night with Felicity, ever since their relationship had come out of hiding. Now, he found himself alone in the bed, and he hated it.  
But thankfully, the text from her and the sweet words helped him get into a better mood.

That good mood only lasted until he set foot into Queen Consolidated two hours later. His desk was loaded with work that he in no way could get done until the end of the day, and given the fact that his father was back in Starling City, he could only imagine who had all the work sent downstairs to his desk. It was his father’s usual way of letting Oliver know he expected him to work _‘efficiently and quickly, because that’s what it requires to manage a top position in a company like QC.’_ Only thinking about his father’s speech from the day he started working there made him shudder.

Two hours after he started working himself through all the files on his desk, Robert’s executive assistant phoned him, letting him know his father expected him up to his office. With a groan, Oliver slid back on his suit jacket, clearly in no hurry, and made his way upstairs to the 31st floor of the building, the floor housing only his father’s office and the desk of his EA.  
“Hello, Oliver,” Martha, the way-too-nice-for-a-man-like-Robert-Queen, EA greeted him. “he’s already awaiting you, step right in.”

“Any idea what this is about?”

“I’m afraid not.” she shook her head. “He only told me to have you sent up.”

With a nod and a small smile, Oliver straightened out his jacket, took a deep breath and opened the door to his father’s office. Robert didn’t look up from the files he was holding, but immediately asked him inside and to have a seat.  
“Anything important? Because I still have a lot of work to go through.” Oliver spoke up, irritation creeping up his spine. First his father requests him to come upstairs immediately, and now that he was sitting in front of him, Robert wasn’t looking up. But Oliver’s rather snappy comment seemed to do the trick.

Putting down the files, Robert leaned over the desk and folded his hands in front of him.  
“What I have to discuss with you is indeed important.” he spoke with a hard voice, not a hint of easiness playing on his facial features, so stark different to the way he always looked at Moira or the girls, not that Oliver wasn’t used to this look.  
“I’d like to promote you to a higher position in this company,” he spoke up, making Oliver’s eyebrows shoot up within a second. That was definitely not what he expected to hear from his father, especially not with the way the two men were acting around each other lately.  
“I’ve seen the work you do in the document review department and I think it’s time to let you do some work of a little... higher standard, if you want to put it that way.”

Still not able to believe what he was hearing, Oliver sent his father an incredulous look.  
“So that means you’ll remove me from the DRD and move me where, exactly?”

“To the financial department handling the project management.” Robert replied matter of factly.

That surprised Oliver even more.  
“But that’s like, two floors down! People have to work their asses off for years in this company to get the chance to work there. And you’re simply promoting me, just like that?”

“Well, for one, you’re my son, and of course it’s obvious that my children will reserve a spot in the higher ranks of this company.”

That wasn’t how Oliver functioned. He never wanted any privileges because of his family, that’s why he never fought the decision of his father, letting him work in the document review department instead of giving him a job that would actually fit his college grades. But Oliver quickly learned that privileges only helped him so far, and at some point it’d have to be him who actually made a difference, not his last name. So he never fought the fact that he had to work himself up the ladder like everyone else in this company. Not that he planned to do that at QC, anyway.

“But of course, like with all things in life, this comes with a condition.” Robert continued.

So there it was. Of course Robert wouldn’t give him a promotion, such a big one at that, so out of the blue. Robert had made it crystal clear what he expected from his son when Oliver started working at QC, and that he wouldn’t instantly give him a high position in the company only because he was the owner’s son.  
So after confusing him with the exact opposite speech of last names and privileges, Oliver wasn’t so surprised any more after hearing the promotion would come with a condition. Now, he almost feared to hear what it could be and given his father’s hard look, he was almost sure he would not enjoy hearing it.

“You’ll get an instant promotion and I’ll have your stuff packed and brought upstairs by afternoon. And of course I’ll adjust your salary accordingly.” Robert smiled almost smugly, as if that was the one last thing that might convince Oliver to take that promotion.

But that still didn’t answer the one thing Oliver wanted to know.  
“What is the condition?” he asked, his patience already wearing thin.

Robert leaned back in his chair and studied his son for a few moments before he replied.  
“I want you to end this... thing between Felicity and you. We both know this isn’t a healthy relationship and I really hoped you would come to your senses soon but it seems that -”

“Shut up!” Oliver yelled loudly and was out of his chair within a second. “I would never do something like this to Felicity, and if you really think I’m such a person, then you do know shit about me. So if this is what you wanted to discuss with me, I’ll head back downstairs. I still have work to do.” he added and turned on his heel, ready to storm out of the office. Not for one more second he wanted to be in his father’s presence, not after what he just wanted him to do.

“Oliver!” Robert snapped from behind him and from the sound of the chair, he guessed that Robert must’ve stood up as well. Turning around, he saw his father standing over the desk, his hands balled to fists, pushing into the files underneath them, his face turning an angry shade of red.  
“I tried to do this the polite way, but it seems you’re either too dumb or too stubborn to see reason. This relationship will bring you nowhere, except holding that girl back. I hoped the promotion would make you come to your senses and also take your chance at a good career in this company, but it seems I have to take more drastic measures.” Robert spoke through gritted teeth.

“What are you talking about?” Oliver replied, sounding clearly annoyed by yet another of his father’s speeches about his relationship with Felicity.

“I’m talking about freezing your accounts. I’m talking about forcing you to realize that, if it weren’t for the wealth of this family, for the money that **I** put into your account, you would have nothing that you could give Felicity. Not a ride in your fancy sports car and not a dinner at Starling’s newest restaurant. You would have nothing, not a god damn penny, and that’s what you need to realize!” Robert spoke, the evil calmness returning back into his voice.

His father’s words made him take a step back. Would they really disown him only because he refused to break up with the woman he loved? But as soon as the question popped into his head, another question did, too... Did he care? And would Felicity do?  
The answer to both these questions was a firm ‘no’. He knew Felicity wasn’t materialistic and wasn’t with him only because of any money he had or the wealth that his family carried. But his father implying that she would made Oliver even more furious.  
“If you think for one second that I care about the money more than I care about Felicity, then ou're completely delusional.” Oliver let out an ironic laugh, shaking his head at his father’s clearly crazy words.

Oliver’s reaction made Robert quickly lose his composure again.  
“I am not going to let you keep this charade up, especially not in public.” Robert warned him. “People will talk about this as soon as the media catches wind of it. And I’m not going to let you bring disgrace and shame over our family name, Oliver! She’s your sister, for god’s sake!”

The tone and angry glare from his father should’ve impressed him, or maybe make him flinch back. But Oliver was long accustomed to his father’s temper tantrums, and they clearly didn’t impress him any more. The only thing that infuriated him were his father’s words about Felicity, even though he never spoke about her directly. But labelling her as a shallow, money-oriented person, was something Oliver wasn’t going to silently accept.  
“No, she’s not. We don’t even share a last name. And you seem to be the only person not understanding that, father. So let me lay out things for you once and for all. I love Felicity. I have for a long time now but it has been the fear of your reaction, a reaction just like this one, that kept me staying away from her. And you know what? I don’t give a shit any longer about what you think! You have never approved of anything I have done in my life, no matter what it was and I'm done trying to live up to your expactations. I’m only working in that shitty company because you expected me to, you never asked me about my plans or wishes. And right now you’re trying to do the same thing with Felicity, only you’re trying to do it behind her back because she can see right through your bullshit, something I failed to do all these years. And guess what, father? I’m done listening to you and obeying your wishes. I’m done getting kicked around by you whenever you feel your stupid son disappointed you again. I love Felicity, and she loves me and that won’t change because you disagree with that! So I guess it’s time to finally accept things as they are, instead of trying to bribe me out of it with what’s probably the shittiest deal on the face of the earth.” Oliver laughed ironically.  
Only the thought of working a higher position in this company, closer to his father’s office, at that, gave Oliver chills. He’d rather rot in hell in a cubicle on the 4th floor than having to work closer with his father. At a company he never wanted to work for in the first place.

With that, Oliver turned on his heel and walked towards the glass door, not even giving his father a chance to reply. The moment Oliver’s hand grabbed the metal handle and pulled open the door, Robert’s voice boomed from behind him.  
“You’re fired!”

Oliver paused for a moment, turned around and sent his father a relaxed smile.  
“Thank god. Have a nice afternoon, _dad_.” he nodded, his entire expression so relaxed it actually surprised him, before he turned away and walked out of the large glass office, a content smile on his lips.

Time to get the hell hell out of that goddamn company.

Time to take two days off and visit his girl in Paris.


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been so long - again!
> 
> But this story is slowly coming to an end, with probably 3 more Chapters to go! :)

Not even bothering to clean up his desk, Oliver only grabbed the picture of Felicity that he had hidden in his top drawer, along with his phone and car keys and made his way out of the building. Time to get the hell away from that company and his father.

As soon as he sat down in the small coffee shop downtown, he pulled out his phone, needing to hear his girlfriend’s voice. When the call went to the mailbox after a few rings, he gave it another try, ending in the same result. Given the time difference he could only imagine the girls were probably busy shopping for shoes and dresses at the moment, straining the nerves of one poor John Diggle.

His next call went right through after the 3rd ring.  
“Hey man, what’s up?” Tommy’s cheerful voice boomed from the other side of the line.

“Get your ass to Rook’s Coffee downtown. We need to talk.”

“Uh oh, didn’t sleep well without your princess warming the bed beside you?” Tommy snickered.

“No. Well yes, that, too, but I just quit my job. Or got fired, to be more accurate.”

“I’ll be down in 5.”  
And with that, Tommy had hung up, leaving Oliver alone with his thoughts and a large cup of coffee in an almost empty coffee shop. He couldn’t wait to get away from Starling City for a few days. Now Tommy only needed to agree to accompany him.

 

\----------------

 

“And your father seriously offered you a higher position and more money if you broke up with Felicity?” Tommy half whispered over the table, eyebrows raised high in the air.

“And when I refused, he threatened to disown me.” Oliver groaned and nodded.

An impish grin formed on Tommy’s lips.  
“Then I’d say it’s a good thing that you started investing in the stock market 2 years ago. Because I doubt you’d break up with Felicity over a threat like that...”

“I wouldn’t break up with her at all, period. Anyone who thinks that clearly is delusional. And if my father thinks both me and her are so shallow that we’ll let money rule our entire life, than he clearly is a lot dumber than he makes everyone believe. Felicity never cared about the money, not her own and certainly not my family’s. And contrary to everyone’s belief, neither do I.”  
With an exhausted sigh he sank back into the booth. Of course his family’s wealth was a nice asset to his life. And of course he made full use of it for many years now. But did he need his family’s money? Sure not. The moment Felicity stepped into his life, with her tragic past and the way she managed to handle her life just fine with only a few dollars in her pocket made him realize that he didn’t have to rely on his parent’s money. And when Tommy told him about a friend earning his college money from investing and trading on the stock market, Oliver decided to give that a try, too, and see how things led him.  
Much to his relief now, things went pretty good for him so far.

“So what now?” Tommy asked, sipping on his coffee while he watched his best friend sitting opposite of him.

With a small smile tugging on his lip, Oliver looked his best friend straight in the eyes.  
“Now I need to convince my best buddy to take a few days off, grab the family jet and accompany his best friend to Paris for a few days of fun with the girls. And their bodyguard.” he grinned and waggled his eyebrows, hoping Tommy would accept.

He had no idea if Tommy would agree to that since it was certainly short dated. And with the amount of work Tommy had to deal with lately, Oliver wasn’t sure if he could go at all. But if he couldn’t, then Oliver would have to fly there alone, and that wasn’t what he had on his mind, not that he didn’t want to see his girlfriend again. But being in the company of his best friend sure sounded a lot more fun.  
“You know what? You’re right. Fuck it. Dad’s out of town until the middle of next week anyway and the jet won’t be needed. I’ll see how soon we can leave.” Tommy spoke, not even paying attention to his best friend any more. His eyes stayed solely on the phone in his hands, scrolling through the contact list before he found the number he was looking for.

A wide grin formed on Oliver’s lips. He would get to surprise Felicity in Paris.

“Alright, get home and pack up. The jet will be awaiting us fueled up and ready for takeoff in exactly 2 hours.” Tommy spoke after getting off the phone, already getting up from the booth. “I need to handle a few things at the company... and grab a coffee and cupcake for my EA. I’m sure she’ll hate me after what I’ll have to tell her.” Tommy grinned and made his way over to the waiting line, buying the largest caramel macchiato they sold before he made his way out of the shop. Oliver followed quickly behind, eager to pack his bags and get the hell out of Starling City for a few days.

 

Exactly 1 hour and 50 minutes later, the cab pulled up at the private airstrip with Tommy already waiting for Oliver. Luckily, he didn’t run into anyone at the mansion besides Raisa, whom he only told he’d be away for a few days. After parking his Porsche in the Merlyn garage, just to be sure, Oliver made his way over to the airport, leaving an extra bag full of clothes stored in the trunk of his car, in case Robert decided to throw a fit and kick him out of the mansion while he was gone. Better to be safe than sorry, his grandma had always told him and Oliver wasn’t going to let his father surprise him with any move.

“I have a surprise planned for the girls.” Oliver told Tommy as soon as they were up in the air and on their way to Paris.

That statement instantly piqued Tommy’s interest. Surprises meant putting a smile on the girls’ faces and every time Tommy could see Thea smile, he’d gladly help achieving that, especially considered that they didn’t had the chance to interact a lot lately.  
“Shoot!”

“I managed to book us two rooms in the same hotel. The receptionist was super helpful when I explained who we were and what we had planned. They’ll slip a note into the girls room later when they’re out in the city. We’ll have a table reserved for 8pm, just the 4 of us. Diggle is the only one in the know, since I had to make sure the girls would be back early enough to get ready for dinner.”

“So Felicity doesn’t even know you’re coming?”

“No, I haven’t told her yet. Actually, I haven’t talked to her at all in the last 24 hours. We’re only texting every now and then.” Oliver replied while pulling his phone out to check if Felicity had sent a message before they were too high up and he’d lose the signal.

“So she doesn’t know what happened between you and your father yet?”

Oliver shook his head, already dreading to have this conversation with her. He knew she’d feel bad for causing such trouble within the family, even though she wasn’t responsible at all. But that’s how she was and just one more reason why Oliver loved her so much.  
“We’ll talk as soon as we got a quiet minute. But I don’t want to taint her birthday trip with any bad news.”

“Well, you certainly don’t sound like it’s bad news.”

Tommy was right. Was Oliver sorry for losing his job? Of course, no one likes to be fired, especially not by a parent. But did he regret what happened? Not one bit. In fact, it felt like a heavy weight had been lifted from his shoulders the moment Oliver stepped out of his father’s office, making him feel lighter and more energized than he had been in a long time.  
“That was just the tip of the iceberg of something that had been going on for years now, Tommy. You know I never wanted to start working for my father. Maybe now’s the best chance for a fresh start at doing exactly what I want.”

“And what about your family? I wouldn’t dare staying at the mansion if I were you, after what just happened between Robert and you. Does Moira know about this? I mean, she must have an opinion about this too, doesn’t she?”

Oliver sighed and leaned back into the seat. He definitely would have to talk to his mother about it. He could only hope she wouldn’t be as hard headed as his father was about this. The relationship with his mother was a lot better than the one with his father, and Oliver knew for a fact that Moira adored Felicity. So maybe his mother could talk some sense into her husband.  
“Honestly, I don’t want to think about anything like that at the moment. For now let’s focus on getting to Paris and spending a few days off before I have to face my family again.”

“For what it’s worth, you could have one of the Merlyn lofts in the city. They’re hardly being used any longer, anyway. And it wouldn’t be too far to Starling High, so Felicity could even spend some nights there, too.”

“Thanks for the offer, Tommy. Really. I’ll talk to Felicity first and see what she thinks before making any decisions. But I don’t think I can stay in the mansion for much longer either, given the circumstances.”  
And if it weren’t for Felicity, he’d be long gone out of there by now. But since she was still living under his parents’ roof and he didn’t want to cut short the time with her to some visitation hours every now and then, he needed to stay put. At least until he had talked to her and sorted things out. But Tommy offering him one of the lofts in the city was actually a great thing - if Felicity agreed to come by for some days of the week.

After a few minutes of silence, Oliver looked up at Tommy who was busying himself with texting.  
“I’m surprised I could convince you so easily to come with me to Paris. I was almost sure I’d have to do a little more begging and bribing.”

“Oh well,” Tommy shrugged and stuffed the phone in his back pocket. “why the hell not? I mean, I’ve never been to Paris, and since dad isn’t in the city anyway, I can pretty much do whatever the hell I want.”

Of course Tommy would never tell his friend that the real reason behind agreeing to this trip so quickly wasn’t that he got some time away from his company, but one woman named Thea Queen. Of course spending time together, just the 4 of them, meant that he couldn’t get too close to her without risking to be seen by Oliver, but if it meant being close to her for a few days, without anyone interrupting them, then he would gladly take some days off and jet half around the globe for that. He’d done crazier things for a lot less reward in the past.

 

Diggle turned out to be a great ally when he strategically kept the girls busy in the city, so Tommy and Oliver could check into their rooms without being seen. The receptionist made sure to slip the note into the girls room as well as prepare everything for dinner later that night, giving both Oliver and Tommy the chance to catch up on some sleep.

 

When the girls returned back home from their shopping trip, loaded with tons of bags, an ivory colored envelope as well as two small bouquets of white lilies greeted them on the center of their bed. Both their names were written down on the front, making Thea and Felicity eye each other in surprise.

“Is that another one of your birthday surprised you haven’t told me about?” Felicity asked, wondering if her friend had planned yet another surprise.

“Nope,” Thea replied and walked over to grab the envelope. “I have no idea what this is.”  
Felicity quirked an eyebrow at her friend, clearly not believing what Thea tried to tell her. But then her friend opened the envelope and pulled out an ivory colored letter. She unfolded the letter and silently started reading through it, Felicity instantly stepping up to her side to see what the letter was saying.

_Invitation to a very special dinner for two very beautiful Ladies for tonight, 8pm. Follow the sight of the lilies and they will lead your way._

No signature, not even a hint at who could’ve sent this.

“You sure this isn’t one of your ideas, Thea? Because this whole thing? It screams Thea Queen to me.” Felicity asked her friend with a cocked eyebrow, her hands gesturing around the envelope and flowers on the bed, clearly not buying Thea’s words from a few minutes ago.

“I swear, I have no idea who sent this,” Thea replied and when Felicity saw the sincerity on her friend’s face, confusion crossed her brain. If Thea hadn’t planned this, then who did? It certainly had to be someone in the hotel, given the knowledge where they were staying and that the letter was addressing not one but two persons. “Maybe we have some secret admirers.” Thea grinned, biting her lower lip so she wouldn’t squeal from excitement, but Felicity was having none of that. She was more concerned than excited about this whole setup.

“You have seen _‘Taken’_ , right? What if this is just their new method of catching female tourists off the streets of Paris?” she replied, arms crossed over her chest.

“Now you’re exaggerating, Fee.” Thea replied and threw the envelope at her head. “There are flowers for each of us, and from the sound of it, the dinner will be downstairs at the hotel restaurant. Besides, didn’t you want to eat there today, anyway?” she grinned and waggled her eyebrows, hoping to convince Felicity to take up on the note and see who was behind it.  
That was a typical Thea again. She’d always been the more adventurous one, the more ballsy one, whereas Felicity liked to play it safe. Ever since her trip across the country - which, in retrospect, had been a pretty naive idea, given the things that could’ve happened to a 15-year old girl travelling the country alone, by bike, with nothing but a charger phone, 50 bucks and a few sandwiches in her pocket - she’d been more of a safe player, not wanting to take too many risks.  
So this, agreeing to go to dinner with some stranger, without actually knowing what would await them - yeah, totally out of her comfort zone, no matter how intriguing the whole setup sounded.

Felicity looked at her friend for a moment before studying the letter once more.  
“Alright,” she sighed, and Thea instantly made a fist-pump, “but we’ll let John know. I’m not going to do this on my own. And you’re a shitty backup if someone decides to kidnap us.”

“I’ll try and not take that personally.” Thea replied with a chuckle and went to dig through their bags full of new clothes for one of the dresses they’d just bought. If there was a stranger inviting them to a romantic dinner they might as well dress appropriately.

 

Almost 3 hours later, the girls left their room, both dressed in their brand new flowy A-line dresses that made them look like they were ready to hit the opera or an exclusive gala. Up until the last minute Felicity had tried to argue that they would be completely overdressed for a dinner, let alone at the hotel restaurant, if there happened to be a dinner at all and not just someone trying to fool them.  
But in the end, Thea convinced her, arguing that, in case they did get abducted, everyone would notice because they both looked killer awesome. Felicity could only roll her eyes at that but since there wasn’t much time left for a change of dress anyway, she decided to go with it and followed Thea out in her black floor length gown, still wary if this was a good idea. But when John assured them he would keep a discreet eye on the girls and make sure nothing would happen to them, some of the anxiousness of Felicity had been lifted. If their bodyguard would be there, too, things should be fine, right? Even though it made her wonder for a moment that he didn’t have any observations about the whole setup at all. But Thea had quickly pushed that thought aside when she dragged Felicity back to their room to get dressed.

Following the bouquets of white lilies they could find in every corner of the hotel hallway, beautifully arranged by the hotel staff, Thea and Felicity scavenger-hunted their way through the hotel. When they stepped into the lobby and saw another bouquet, this one way bigger than the others, beautifully fitted into the decoration leading into the restaurant, Thea was about to step forward and walk inside when Felicity’s hand on her arm stopped her.

“I still don’t think it’s a good idea, Thea.” she tried once more, ready to take a step back and head up to their room again. She’d gladly have chosen room service over all that, but Thea seemed too excited to let go now.

“Just one look, Fee. Come on. If there’s some creeper waiting for us, we won’t have to fear anything, there’s hotel staff literally everywhere around here and John is watching us. Just scream and run.” she grinned and pulled Felicity through the restaurant door where a maitre’d already awaited them.

“Bonjour, mademoiselles,” he spoke up with a smile and rounded his small booth. “Follow me, please.” he added, the thick french accent making both girls smile.

Felicity was about to protest again, but Thea shushed her before she could say anything.  
”Just a look, Fee. If your creepiness sensor picks up anything, we’ll leave. Promised. And obviously we were awaited. Or do you think the maitre’d plans to kidnap us?” she grinned.

With a sigh and a nod, Felicity gave in and the girls followed the maitre’d through the restaurant. A few tables were occupied, but it seemed that most hotel guests preferred to eat out, leaving the restaurant in a nice, silent ambiente. When they reached a more secluded table right near the window, the maitre’d stopped and turned with a smile, motioning for the girls to have a seat. The moment Thea and Felicity saw the incredible, direct view they had on the eiffel tower from that spot, both women gasped.

“It is the best view of the whole hotel,” the maitre’d spoke up with a proud smile, pulling both women out of their reverie. “Please have a seat. The tower light show begins in 10 minutes.”

And with that, he was gone, leaving the girls both standing in front of the large round table that left space for at least 4 people. Felicity still had no idea what to think about all this and started looking around the restaurant in hopes to spot John sitting anywhere. She didn’t see him, but since he promised them to be there but to stay discreet, she wasn’t afraid too much. There were still people sitting around in the restaurant, after all, and the view was in fact fantastic. Thea had already plopped down on a chair next to the window, giving a perfect direct view to the tower, making Felicity pick the spot right next to her. If shit went down the drain, the girls needed to stay together, after all.

Minutes ticked by and with that, Felicity’s uneasiness only intensified. Neither the maitre’d nor a waiter had stopped by their table yet and Thea kept staring out at the eiffel tower, completely blinding out what was going on in the restaurant around them.  
When uncertainty won and Felicity was ready to grip Thea and bolt the hell out of the restaurant, two tall and very familiar figures walked up to the table.

With a broad smile on their faces, Tommy and Oliver stopped in front of the table, making the girls gasp in surprise.  
“Oliver! Tommy! Wha - what are you doing here?” Felicity rasped out in shock, surprised that her throat was actually working.

Thea looked equally shocked, but kept her gaze more on Tommy than on her brother. Both men were casually yet elegantly dressed in slacks and a shirt, grinning down at the women. When Felicity shot out of her chair and threw herself into Oliver’s arms, Thea slowly got up from her chair as well. With Oliver and Felicity so oblivious to anything else but them, Thea hesitantly wrapped her arms around Tommy and pulled him in a loose hug and damn, if that man didn’t smell way too sexy for his own good.

“What the hell are you doing here?” she mumbled into his neck before letting go of him again when she saw Oliver and Felicity stepping away from each other as well.

“Surprising you. And given the looks on your faces it actually worked.” Tommy proudly grinned back and went to pull Felicity into a hug. “Hey Lissy. You look beautiful.” he mumbled into her hair and squeezed her once lightly before stepping away again.

“So this whole thing was your idea?” Felicity addressed both men, still completely overwhelmed by the fact that Oliver was standing in front of her.

“It was, and if I recall correctly, we have to watch a light show starting in just a few minutes.” Oliver smiled and nodded his chin towards the eiffel tower behind them.  
They all took a seat at the large table, with Oliver sitting right next to Felicity while Tommy made sure to not sit too close to Thea to raise any suspicions. The little minx still kept brushing his leg with her heel every few minutes, though.

 

When Oliver and Tommy picked a wine for the night and the waiter placed a few carafes of water in the middle of the table, a thought crossed Felicity’s mind.  
“Aren’t you two supposed to be working right now?” she asked, not really addressing one of the men directly. She knew both of them had a more-or-less reputable job with their fathers’ companies, and that taking a few days off on such short notice wasn’t always an option.

“We both took a few days off.” Tommy quickly replied when he saw Oliver struggling to find the right words. He knew Oliver wanted to tell Felicity about the fight with his father but he could imagine that having to do it at a restaurant over dinner, in front of his sister, wasn’t the most perfect setup for that.

That seemed to please her for a moment, but when Oliver started to fill both the girls’ glasses, Felicity held a protective hand over hers, refraining him from filling wine into hers.  
“We’re not allowed to drink. And I really don’t want to upset Moira if John tells her we’ve gotten wasted at a Parisian restaurant.” she warned Oliver, who brushed her off with a laugh.

“John is having the night off,” he started and pulled the wine glass from under her hand, “and if I recall right, you both have been drinking much heavier stuff in the past already.” he winked and half filled her glass before handing it back. “Besides, this is France, and the age limit to drink here here is 18, not 21. So you’ll be fine.”

“Oh boy, what have I gotten myself into,” she mumbled into her glass with a groan and took a sip of the surprisingly good tasting wine, making Tommy and Oliver chuckle slightly.

When the light show started a minute later, all conversations around the table had come to a halt completely. Everyone kept staring out the window to watch the eiffel tower blinking and flashing its lights in different setups, illuminating the city. With the darkness surrounding it, the whole area around the tower was bathed in a wild glow.

Just when the light show ended, the waiter appeared with their menus, and just with that, the chatter at the table picked up again. Tommy kept asking questions about their girls’ activities so far, while - most of the time it had been Thea - rambled on and on about shoe stores and handbag shops, throwing out names neither of the men had ever heard before. Felicity kept chuckling here and there, and when Oliver asked them what they’d bought so far, it had been clear that it was definitely Thea who’d spent way more money on this trip already. Felicity seemed almost shy to tell him about the few dresses and shoes she’d bought, making him once again look at her in awe. Even at the time where she hadn’t have to worry about money at all, it was his girlfriend who kept a very close eye on what she spent, as if old habits died hard. He loved it.

 

When the night went on and dessert had been served, Felicity asked a question that had been burning on her mind ever since Tommy and Oliver sat down at their table.  
“Where are you guys staying?”

“Here at the hotel, actually.” Oliver replied and leaned back in his chair, not able to get down one more fork of that way too delicious chocolate cake. “We each have a room here.”

She could see the un-asked question on his face, but since this was the gift-trip from Thea, she just couldn’t do it.  
“Well, I’ll stay with Thea, though. I’m here because of her and it would be rude to just leave her alone now.” Felicity replied and cast a quick glance at her friend, who was still busy ravishing the chocolate cake in front of them.

“Oh it’s okay, Fee,” she mumbled through a mouthful, “I don’t mind having the room to myself, as long as we get to spend the rest of the day together. Besides, you’re a terrible blanket thief. And you snore.”

“I do not!” Felicity called back with a half shocked face, making Thea and the men laugh slightly.

“But really, I don’t mind. I know you’ve missed my brother.” she smiled with a small shrug and turned her attention back to the chocolate cake in front of her.

Felicity watched her friend for a moment before she looked over to Oliver who only shrugged and half nodded. She wasn’t about to protest because Thea was right. She’d missed Oliver. Terribly so. But still it was Thea’s surprise trip for her, so she didn’t want to be rude and just leave her there alone the first moment Oliver appeared.

 

When Tommy and Oliver paid the bill and helped the women to their feet, they all left the restaurant, Thea making sure to fall in step behind her brother so she could hold hands with Tommy without anyone noticing. Tommy was reluctant at first and sent her a slightly nervous and worried look, but when Oliver and Felicity wrapped themselves in each other, completely oblivious to the other two walking behind them, Tommy seemed to relax and actually enjoy feeling his hand wrapped around hers, even though both knew the moment would only last a few minutes.

 

“I can’t wait to peel you out of that dress,” Oliver mumbled into Felicity’s ear when they walked over to the elevators, making her shudder with excitement. When Tommy and Thea stepped up behind them though, she took a step away from Oliver, knowing he would love to tease her. It was one thing that her best friend and her boyfriend’s best buddy knew about the relationship, but she certainly didn’t want to give them a show.

Hugging her friend goodnight, Felicity let Oliver lead her one floor down to his room, Tommy following right behind them. Back in his room, Oliver didn’t even waste any second before his hands were all over her body the moment she’d closed the door behind her.  
“You have no idea how much I’ve missed you,” he mumbled into her neck. His hands made quick work of the zipper on her side, pulling it down in one swift move. “I couldn’t even sleep without you by my side.” he murmured.

“I was only gone for two days,” she chuckled when he nibbled a spot near her ear. “But I missed sleeping next to you, too.”

Not wasting any more time with talking, Oliver threw her over her shoulder and carried her over to the bed, her arms kicking and flailing with laughter, trying to free herself from his grip.

“You are such a caveman,” she laughed and landed on the mattress, her loose dress flying in all directions. Oliver was on her in an instant, kissing her with a ferocity she had rarely seen on him. Part of it felt like he couldn’t get enough of her, but another part made her wonder if there was anything else to it.  
“Is everything alright?” she rasped out between kisses, hardly finding the chance to form a sentence under Oliver’s lips. Her words made him pull back slightly, though.

“Yeah, yeah everything’s alright,” he replied with a slightly furrowed brow. Where that sudden question came from, he had no idea. “I’m just glad to have you back in my arms.”

With a warm smile, she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him in a tight embrace. Oliver hugged her bag just as much, loving to have her back in his arms. Just at that moment, he didn’t want to let her go. He wanted to hold onto the one sure thing in his life, the one thing that grounded him and made him happy despite all the trouble he found himself in lately.

When Felicity sensed his sudden hesitation to let go of her, she pulled her head back slightly and studied his face for a moment.  
“Oliver... are you sure everything is alright?”

The real concern in her voice made him sigh and pull back slightly, letting go of her embrace but keeping her body close to his nonetheless. It had been too long since he felt her beside her.  
“I got in a fight with my father this morning,” Oliver began with a sigh and rubbed his temples. He dreaded to have that talk, but of course Felicity had a right to know.

Her back went completely rigid at his words, her face looking over at him with a confused and slightly worried frown.  
Of course she knew what that fight was about. She was no idiot. Shortly after the fallout in the mansion, Felicity left for Paris, knowing full well that Oliver and his parents were far from ‘speaking terms’. And with her gone, it didn’t surprise her one bit that Oliver and his father got into a fight that soon again. What did surprise her was that she hadn’t figured that out sooner.

“What happened?” she asked him, even though she was afraid of hearing the answer to that. A fight between these two stubborn hardheads could only mean more trouble up the horizon, as soon as they returned back. And as much as she loved Oliver, she didn’t want to have almost her entire family fighting because of her and Oliver’s relationship.

Oliver groaned and flopped back onto the mattress. There was no way she would let him continue peeling her out of that dress now. Besides, she had a right to know - and would demand so, too, after having heard the first snippet of it. So might as well get over it now so they could focus on more relaxing things again.  
“The short version? He offered me a higher position at QC in addition with a bigger salary, but only if I broke things off with you so I wouldn’t _‘taint your career.’_ , to quote my dear father.”

The way he quoted the last 3 words and squinted his face at the memory made her frown. Did Robert really think so low of his son? Or, in reverse, think so high of her? Sure, they never made a secret of how pleased they were with her academic achievements. But Oliver was just as hard working and successful as she was, if not even more with everything college required from him and the fact that he’d been working at the family company already. So him ‘tainting’ her career was really absurd; if anything he helped her become even better and more successful in everything she did.

Making a mental note to have a serious conversation with her foster father as soon as they were back in Starling City, Felicity focused back on the present. The more she could get out of Oliver now, the better she got an idea of the current situation going on back at home.  
“That’s not true and you know that, Oliver.” she smiled and squeezed his hand, trying to erase the bad thoughts about his father’s words from his mind. She hated to see him doubt himself or even think low of himself, and she sure as hell won’t allow that when it came to her.  
“So what did you do?”

“I quit,” he laughed slightly to himself, his eyes still not fully focused on her. “Well, to be perfectly honest, he beat me to it and fired me before I could tell him to go fuck himself.”

“Oliver!” she called out loud, her eyes wide in shock at his rude words. “He’s still your father, after all. No matter how tense your relationship might be.”

“He tried to blackmail me into breaking up with you. And when I refused, he threatened to cut me off. I hardly call that a tense relationship, Felicity.” he replied with a slightly annoyed tone.

Felicity slid away from him and sat upright on the mattress.  
“Well at least you still have a father.” she replied with a sad voice.

Oliver, immediately sensing his mistake, slid over to her side and pulled her into an embrace.  
“Hey, I’m sorry. That was insensitive of me. Of course I love my parents, both of them. But it just so happens that I love you more.” he smiled and leaned down slightly to level his eyes with hers. The smile she sent him didn’t fully reach her eyes, but Oliver was happy to see her at least smile a bit again. He knew ‘parents’ were still a tender topic for her; she more often than not tried to get the Queen family all together at the table during dinner or tried to squeeze at least one evening together into everyone’s schedules. And it didn’t surprise him one bit. For a woman who barely had enough time with her own parents Felicit held herself together quite well.

“So what are you going to do now?”

“For now the only thing I want is you not worrying about any of that. I have a plan already and we’ll talk about it in detail once we’re back in Starling City. But here, right now, I just want to enjoy my time with you and want you to enjoy your trip with Thea.” he smiled and placed a soft kiss on her temple, earning a small nod from her.

He wasn’t going to tell her yet that he already planned on moving out of the mansion. He wasn’t going to tell her yet that he had a new job already, for quite a while now, in fact, even though it had been more of a casual side job before. Now, it was his way out of his father’s grip and into self-reliance. But dumping all that information on Felicity right now would only worry her even more and he wanted her to enjoy the few days in Paris, not having her worry about their future in Starling City. As far as he recalled, their life wouldn’t change much, except for him starting a new job and moving out and her graduating from high school soon and starting college shortly after - something that still left the debate open about where they should find an apartment. If she decided to move half across the country to attend Boston University, then he’d pack everything up and move with her. That he made very clear several times already. She still hadn’t told him yet where she wanted to go to college, though, or where she even applied for, something they had to discuss in detail once they were home as well.

 

With the mood to make out completely gone after that conversation, Oliver and Felicity just undressed and cuddled into each other, stroking and peppering each other with kisses until Oliver fell asleep a few minutes later, the jet lag still taking a toll on his body. Felicity drifted off shortly after, enjoying the warmth of Oliver surrounding her, his arms wrapping her into a tight embrace and holding her close to her body, as if even asleep he feared she might slip away from him.  
“I’m not going anywhere.” she mumbled into his chest before placing a kiss over his heart and drifting off as well.

 

\------------------

 

A soft knock on his door made Tommy stop dead in his tracks and turn to face the door, as if it would magically open and reveal who was knocking at almost 11pm, with him currently half undressed and getting ready to hit the mattress for a good night of sleep. When another knock came, he took a step towards the door, his shirt unbuttoned and his feet bare.  
“Yeah?” he called out, loud enough for the person on the other side of the door to hear but not too loud to bother Oliver and Felicity in the room next to him.

“Open the door.” came the reply in the voice that made him stop dead in his tracks. What the hell?

When he remembered who was occupying the room right next to him, he almost stormed over to the door, swung it open and pulled Thea inside, closing it firmly behind her again. Not even giving her a chance to speak out one word, Tommy dragged her to the bathroom, closed the door and faced her, turning on the faucet to mute out their voices, just for good measure.

“What the hell are you doing?” Thea half snapped at him and pulled her hand out of his firm grip.

“What the hell are YOU doing?” he shot back, his low voice half covered by the sound coming from the water splashing into the sink. Thea watched him, looked down at the faucet, shut it off and sent him an angry glare.

“What are you talking about? And what’s up with this charade?” she asked him and gestured to the sink and around the room, stating the fact that they were standing in the small bathroom.

“Your brother is sleeping on the other side of that wall, Thea! What do you think would’ve happened if he’d seen you standing in front of MY door?” Tommy called back, clearly not understanding her carelessness.

Thea, on the other hand, started to get annoyed as hell by Tommy’s constant cowardice, especially towards her brother. Crossing her arms over her chest, she took a step back from him, her stare hard.  
“I would’ve told him I couldn’t sleep and was trying to keep you company for a little while. Which would have been the truth, by the way.”  
Tommy watched her but didn’t say a word, obviously either not believing her words, or not being convinced it would have worked, in case Oliver came out and really saw her standing there. And it again annoyed the hell out of her.  
“You need to relax a little more, alright? It’s not that I knocked on your door bare naked - even though I have to admit I thought about that for a moment.” she half grinned before her face quickly fell into a hard glare again. “I only wanted to spend a little time with you while my traveling partner spends the night screwing my brother’s brains out. But apparently you’re even too much of a chicken to just sit and talk to me, even with a thick wall between us and my brother, and Ollie probably pretty occupied with other things. So you know what? I think I’ll just get back upstairs. Maybe Diggle is still awake.”

With a resignating frown on her face, she turned on her heel and grabbed the door handle, only to be stopped by Tommy’s large hand on her upper arm. She barely had time to look over her shoulder when Tommy stepped up right beside her, spun her around, her back pressing into the bathroom door, and slanted his lips on her.  
It took her all but a second to join him, and the moment his tongue sneaked out and seeked out hers, she let out a soft moan. It had been too long since she last felt Tommy’s lips on hers, and the moment she saw him walking up to their table next to Oliver, she made sure to have as much fun on this trip as Felicity. When they told them that Oliver and Tommy both had a separate room one floor down, she made a mental fist pump. And when Oliver and Felicity all but ravaged each other on their way upstairs, Thea knew it wouldn’t take much to ‘get rid’ of her best friend and keep her brother busy half the night, so she could sneak downstairs, too, and have a little fun time herself. With the man that was currently ravishing her lips, of course. So one could say things went according to plan so far.

“I’m doing this for you!” Tommy suddenly almost growled onto her lips before kissing down her neck.

Thea didn’t even try to hold back the moan that slipped out when he nibbled on a delicate spot right over her collarbone. He’d found that spot some weeks ago, when they were fooling around in the movie room yet again, and he’d made sure to give it much attention ever since, loving all the sounds he could pull out of her.

“The only thing I want you doing right now is me.” she bluntly replied, surprised at how steady her voice sounded, despite the things he was doing to her at that moment.

Her words made him stop all movements though and look up at her face. They hadn’t breached that territory yet, and so far, Tommy didn’t make any move to change that. Especially not without having had any form of ‘relationship talk’ beforehand and most definitely not before her 18th birthday. And then there still was her brother, as well. His best friend, who trusted him with his little sister ever since she was able to run around on her own.  
Tommy already calculated in that Oliver might throw a major fit once he found out what his best friend and his little sister were doing for quite a while now behind everyone’s backs. But hearing that his best friend was not only dating, but sleeping with his little sister? His still very underage sister? Yeah, Tommy was sure Oliver would definitely rip his head off and eat him alive, something he wasn’t particularly looking for at all.

“Not going to happen, sweetheart. You know why.”  
And it wasn’t that he didn’t want to. God, how he wanted it. But there were still a ton of things to talk about beforehand. And just at that moment he wished he could talk to his best friend about it, maybe even get an advice how to handle things, since Oliver had been pretty much in the same situation as him just a few weeks ago. But asking Oliver about it meant raising suspicions with his best friend, and he couldn’t let that happen. Not yet.  
Felicity, though, was another story. Tommy knew Thea and Felicity were talking, probably in fine detail about everything and anything relationship-related. And the way Felicity knowingly grinned and smirked every time she caught Thea’s hand on his leg told him she very well knew what was going on between Thea and him. So maybe he could ask her for a little advice on how to handle the whole ‘sex-topic’ with Thea, as weird as that may be.

With a small sigh, Thea pulled back from him, trying to put a little physical distance between them. He wanted to have _that_ kind of conversation now? Well, fine then.

“I’m old enough to make my own decisions, Tommy.” she groaned with a slight roll of her eyes. Tommy knew that look all too well. Every time she got annoyed or pissed off, he got to see that patented Thea-eye-roll. And lately he’d been seeing it quite a lot, directed at him almost all the time.  
Ever since Oliver and Felicity’s relationship went public, Tommy started thinking about Thea and himself a lot more. In many ways, Oliver and he were on the very same page, except that his father wouldn’t throw a fit like Robert did. If anything, Malcolm probably wouldn’t even care about his only child’s relationship status at all, even though, for financial reasons, a relationship between two children of Starling City’s 1% would probably please him. Thank god neither Thea nor Tommy cared about any of that.

“I’m not saying you’re not old enough,” he replied with a low voice, still nervous Oliver could hear them. “I’m just saying that I’m not getting either of us in trouble. Actually, I’m already getting us in enough trouble as it is.”

“So what?” Thea half snapped, her arms crossed over her chest, her back pressed into the bathroom door. This was so not how she planned to spend the evening. They were in the city of love, for god’s sakes! So why were they standing in a small bathroom at 11pm, fighting?  
“You gonna keep me at arm’s length for another 3 months until I’m old enough so you won’t get in trouble any longer? Well, newsflash, Tommy. I didn’t plan on running around with a big flashing sign right after you fucked me, telling the world about the forbidden things you’ve done to your best friend’s underage sister!” she snapped at him, making him take a step back in surprise. He’d always known Thea and her blunt mouth as the girl who didn’t bother speaking her mind. It was one of the things that made him like her so much. But hearing her actually pointing out so bluntly about their relationship wasn’t something he was used to hear. They’ve had a few discussions in the past about going further than just kissing and fooling around over the clothes, and these conversations mostly ended with Thea unhappy and groaning. But never before had she vocalized her thoughts about them so bluntly. And apparently she wasn’t done with her speech yet.  
“And until then, what, Tommy? You’re going to expect me sitting at home like the good underage girl that I am, while you keep fucking your way to Starling’s female population over the age consent? I’m sorry to inform you, but I’m not going to do that.” Her anger died down with her final words before she slightly shook her head, averted his gaze, turned around and left the bathroom, leaving Tommy standing there alone.

It took him a moment to process everything she’d just told him. And when he realized Thea had left the bathroom and was actually about to leave his room, he stormed out and followed her.  
“Do you really think I’m fucking other girls when I’m not with you, Thea?” Tommy called after grabbing her wrist right before she was able to reach the door.

Thea turned around to face him once again, her face no longer showing any form of anger. She only looked sad and tired.  
“I don’t know, Tommy. Do you?”

“Of course not! I haven’t touched a god damn woman ever since that New Year’s Eve party! I may be a major asshole from time to time, but I sure as hell wouldn’t hurt you like that!”

Thea let his words sink in, even though it sounded hard to believe Tommy hadn’t laid a hand on a woman for so long.  
“So you haven’t been with anyone since that party 1.5 years ago?”

He nodded once, his grey eyes cast straight on hers.  
“I simply wasn’t interested. So much, that even your brother noticed and asked me if anything was wrong.”

Thea didn’t reply anything to that. She simply had no idea what to say. On one hand Tommy told her that he wasn’t ready or still unwilling to have a committed relationship, but on the other hand he just declared he hadn’t been sexually interested in anyone but her. It all didn’t make sense and gave her a major headache.  
“Well it’s late. I better get going. I’m sure Fee would want to do some sightseeing with you guys tomorrow, so I better get some sleep.”  
Sending him a sad smile, she turned on her heel once again and took the remaining 3 steps to his door to head back to her room.

“Have dinner with me.”  
Tommy suddenly blurted out. It wasn't what he'd been planning to say, but once the words left his mouth, he couldn’t stop them any longer. Thea halted her movements and looked over her shoulder with a slightly confused frown.  
“Not right now, or here, obviously. But once we’re back in Starling City. Let me take you out, Thea. Just you and me.” he smiled, hoping to convince her.

Up until that moment they’d only spent time together whenever someone else was around, mostly Oliver and Felicity. Deep down Thea had hoped that once the relationship between her best friend and her brother was made public and the two could spend time with each other without having Tommy and her around as an alibi, that Tommy would actually consider spending more time with her alone, too. But so far, he had only shown up at the mansion once while everyone was gone, and that wasn’t even to see her but to drop off files for Oliver.  
So him asking her out, now, after the conversation they just had, made her wary.

Tommy could practically see the wheels turning in her head and for one brief moment he was sure she’d refuse. But then a small smile tugged on her lips. Taking a slow step towards him, she leaned on her tiptoes and pressed a feather light kiss to his lips.  
“I’d like that.”

With that, she took a step back, opened the door and walked out, leaving a half confused, half happy Tommy alone in the hotel room.  
“Good night, Tommy.” she smiled before closing the door behind her.

With a groan he rubbed his face with his palms. He really needed to figure out what to do about their situation if he wanted to survive the next few months, and the only person he could talk to was currently occupied in the room next to him, with the one person he most definitely could not talk to about his problem. How awesome.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hoped to be able to finish this story just in time with the Arrow season finale, but given that the finale is next week already, I won't be able to make it. :D  
> That said, I should be able to finish this story within the next 4 weeks though (and then move on to finish my other story, The Blind Side). :)


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it has been a while! The final 3 chapters will follow soon, though, and then I'll be on to finishing The Blind Side (finally!).

The following day everyone enjoyed Paris and the lovely weather, with Felicity and Thea acting as their tour guides. John Diggle seemed very glad that Oliver and Tommy had joined them, not that the men could blame him. If the amount of bags in the girls room had been any indication, sightseeing and actually enjoying the city had been a more secondary thing during this trip. Since neither Tommy nor Oliver had been to Paris before, the group decided to make the best of their last full day there and enjoy everything the city had to offer.

Tommy had tried to catch Felicity alone for a moment so he could talk to her and maybe get an advice or two about how to handle things between Thea and him while keeping a low profile, but Oliver was way too attached to his girlfriend to give Tommy the chance to catch her alone for a moment without raising suspicions with his best friend.  
The group arrived back at the hotel with just enough time to shower and get ready to head downstairs to the restaurant, this time even joined by John Diggle.

 

After cancelling their flights so the girls could join Oliver and Tommy in his private jet, everyone headed to the airport to say goodbye to a relaxed weekend in Paris.

John Diggle took the time off to catch up on some sleep, while Tommy busied himself with company work. Oliver and Felicity occupied the seats in the far corner, with the partition giving them a little privacy and silence from the rest of the group.

“Thank you for surprising me.” Felicity smiled and snuggled deeper into his shoulder. “It made this trip even more awesome.”

“I love you.” Oliver murmured into her hair and peppered her head with kisses. Knowing her by her side, despite the trouble hanging over their relationship right now, gave him strength. He knew there was an unpleasant conversation awaiting him with his father and probably with his mother as well, but knowing Felicity had his back made things a lot easier for him.

“Hey,” he mumbled, a sudden idea making him grin. Felicity had slightly drifted off to sleep on his chest, but grunted a small reply. “Want to join the mile high club?”

At his words she looked up, seeing the boyish grin on his face. For a long moment she just stared at him with a blank expression and when he was about to shrug off the idea, she surprised him and went straight for his belt buckle.

“Whoa,” he began and sat up a little straighter in his seat. “Eager, aren’t we?” he laughed, clearly surprised by her forwardness.

The laughter died in his throat the moment Felicity went to work. When her teeth slightly grazed along his length, he let out a soft moan, making her look up at him with a proud smirk on her face.  
“I’d better shut up if I were you... you don’t want the others to know what we’re doing here, do you?” she grinned and went back to work.

She nipped with her teeth, swirled her tongue around and around until more throaty moans burst from him, unable to hold them back any longer.  
“Holy shit, Felicity... how am I supposed to stay silent if you ... oh fuck, just like that ... if you keep doing these things?” he whispered through a moan and grabbed her head with both hands, not adding any pressure but feeling the need to hold on to her.  
"If you keep doing that," he managed to say between uneven breaths, "I won't be able to hold on…."

She gave him a coy smile, her green-blue eyes gleaming up at him. Instead of slowing down though, she increased the pace of her movements, her own breathing coming in soft pants.  
"Don't hold back," she whispered urgently, the tip of her tongue snaking down to lick the head of his cock before she took him as deep as she could, considering their slightly awkward position, leaning over two seats, and kept sucking and swallowing. Her words and the intent gleam in her eyes proved too much for Oliver, driving him over the edge, his fingers tightening in her hair.

Muffling his moans into the backrest of his seat, he felt Felicity swallow every drop, prolonging his climax when she gently squeezed and fondled his balls. Oliver groaned in pleasure, feeling all the pent-up energy from the last few days vanish with every breath he took. Unable to move, his hands tangled loosely in her hair, his head relaxing into the seat while he tried to gain composure again.  
With a proud grin on her lips Felicity let go of him and sat upright in her seat. Seeing Oliver so blissed out made her chuckle. She very rarely saw him like this, so blissfully relaxed, especially not with his pants open and his dick hanging out.

At her giggles, Oliver opened an eye and looked over at her.  
“What?” he mumbled with a sleepy voice, sounding drunk on both sleep and satisfaction.

“You might want to zip up again,” she chuckled and went to redo her ponytail while she spoke. “I’m pretty sure Thea or Tommy would burn their eyes if they walked in on you like that.”

“Tommy has seen my package hundreds of times already,” he shrugged with a sleepy but satisfied smile and went to tuck himself back into his boxer briefs. Felicity cocked an eyebrow at that, but didn’t say anything.  
“Oh come on, don’t tell me you haven’t seen my sister’s rack plenty of times already.”

“We’re not going to talk about your sister’s boobs now, are we?” she laughed and leaned back into the seat. 

A soft knock on the partition startled them both. Sliding it open a crack, they spotted Thea standing there with a small plate of fruit and snacks, letting them know they’d be up in the air another 6 hours. Deciding to catch up on some sleep before having to face a probably pretty hectic afternoon in Starling City, everyone settled into their seats.

 

Back in Starling City, all hell broke loose basically the moment the jet hit ground. Just when they left the plane and waited for their luggage, the Queen limo pulled up to the airstrip.  
“Mrs. Queen asked me to take you to the mansion - immediately.” John addressed Thea and Felicity directly, sending an apologetic glance towards Oliver.

“Here we go…” Felicity sighed and stole a last kiss from Oliver before walking over to the car. “Meet you at Tommy’s place later?”

Oliver only nodded, feeling completely at unease that he had to let his girlfriend go to the mansion alone to deal with whatever Moira had to tell her about the fight and its repercussions. But following her could’ve meant another possible fight between him and his father, and that certainly wouldn’t help matters. Trusting her to call him if things went out of hand, he reluctantly let her go alone.

 

The almost grim look on Moira’s face made Felicity even more nervous the moment they stepped into the mansion. What Moira said then, wasn’t at all what she expected to hear though.  
“Girls, what were you thinking? Robert and I were beyond worried upon hearing you didn’t board your flights! If it weren’t for Mr. Diggle’s call shortly after, we would have sent out a search warrant for you! What were you thinking?” she asked, focusing more on Thea and than her, giving Felicity the chance to take a breather for a moment. So this wasn’t about the fight between Oliver and his father and the possible fallout because of it.

“Sorry, mom. I wanted to send a text to let you know that we’d be coming home with Ollie and Tommy, but I forgot until we were up in the air and I lost signal.” Thea half shrugged, making Moira turn her attention towards Felicity, a slightly accusing look gleaming in her eyes.

“Thea’s carelessness doesn’t surprise me, but from you I wouldn’t have expected that, Felicity.”

“I’m sorry. Thea and I thought it would be safer and faster if the took the jet rather than having to check in our luggage and sit through a flight with two stop-overs. Plus, John was with us, so we both thought it would be alright.”

At Felicity’s words, Moira’s hard face relaxed a bit, even a small smile tugging at her lips.  
“You’re right. We were just so worried when we got informed that you didn’t board your plane.” Moira smiled at both girls for a moment and took in the huge amount of bags and suitcases at their feet. “I take it you girls had fun?”

Thea was the first to put on a broad grin and nodded enthusiastically, but Felicity quickly followed suit.  
“That’s lovely to hear. Make sure Raisa helps you with all the bags. Felicity, may I have a word with you, please?” she asked and motioned for her to follow down the hall, where Moira’s private office was located. Felicity sent Thea a confused look, but Thea only shrugged and watched her walk down the hall to follow Moira.  
Quickly pulling out her phone to send Oliver a short text to let him know Moira wanted to talk to her, she followed the Queen head into the office. When Moira went to close the office doors, Felicity’s nervosity instantly increased. Moira rarely requested her to the office, only when official adoption matters had to be discussed, and she certainly never closed the doors for that. Raisa and her team were well aware about Felicity’s foster care details, so there had never been too much need of privacy.

Moira motioned for Felicity to have a seat before she sat down at her desk herself, directly facing her, making Felicity nervously shift in her seat.  
“There’s something we need to talk about,” she began and Felicity couldn’t help but sit straighter at her foster mother’s words. There wasn’t any anger audible in her voice, and the warm Moira-Queen-like smile was also present on her face. And still Felicity felt more nervous than she had in a long while.  
“I’m sure you are aware of the dispute that came up between Robert and Oliver,” she continued and Felicity could only nod curtly, not trusting her voice at that moment. Of course this was about Oliver. All legalities surrounding the adoption and foster care had been taken care of right after her birthday and there wasn’t anything that Felicity could imagine so important to justify Moira’s sudden closed off behavior. The fight between her son and her husband though? That very much fit into that.  
“I understand that you may want to keep out of that, so do I, as there has always been some sort of... tension between Oliver and his father. But this time it isn’t solely between these two. This time Oliver isn’t just trying to revolt against his father.”

Felicity frowned slightly at Moira’s words, not fully able to follow where she was heading with her story. With a small, almost sympathetic smile, the Queen head continued.  
“Oliver always had a rebellious streak against his father, especially when it came to Robert’s expectations and wishes for the company. Oliver is our only son and our oldest child, and Robert always expected him to inherit the company once we both decided to retire one day. Oliver never had much interest to do so, but for the sake of the company, for the sake of this family, he agreed to take up the position Robert offered him.”

Felicity nodded in understandment but kept her mouth shut. Out of all the things she could’ve wanted to say to that, none would have made the situation any better. She’d always suspected Oliver wasn’t happy about the choices made for his career, and the more she heard about it, the more she despised the fact that Oliver had never been able to make his own choices.  
So him, actually quitting his job and putting himself first for once in his life, made her happy for him rather than concerned about the family’s future. 

“So I am sure you’ll agree with me that what happened between Robert and Oliver is far from ideal.” Moira continued and again, Felicity could only nod. Too many things were running through her head at that moment and coupled with what Moira was saying to her, she felt a little too overwhelmed to reply anything. “This is why I wanted to talk to you.” Moira smiled and paused for a moment, as if sensing that Felicity was struggling to keep up with everything.

And then she realized why Moira wanted to talk to her.  
“Well there isn’t anything I can do.” she shrugged, keeping to herself that she also didn’t have any intentions to interfere between the two men anyway.

“I beg to differ.” she smiled back, her hands resting neatly folded on the desk. “Oliver listens to you. And even though I have to admit that it’s still a bit confusing to comprehend, but I also think he loves you. If anyone, it’s you he would listen to.”

At Moira’s words, no matter how sweet her confirmation of Oliver’s love for her sounded, anger welled up in her. If this was Moira’s version of the conversation Robert had with Oliver just a few days ago, she was about to get the hell out of that office.  
Folding her arms in front of her chest, she leaned back into the seat and leveled her foster mother with an almost angry glare.  
“It flatters me that you think Oliver listens to me, but I don’t see any reason why he should. He’s a grown man who can make his own decisions. And to be honest, I don’t want to be dragged any more between Oliver and his father than I already am. You say this has been going on between them for many years, so I’m sure a few words from me to Oliver won’t change anything.”

Moira took in every word Felicity told her with a complete straight face. If she was surprised at Felicity’s rather harsh words toward her, she hid it well.  
“I understand you’re trying to protect him, Felicity.” she smiled again. That smile started to seriously grate on Felicity’s nerves, especially given the fact that this whole situation was anything but pleasant. “But you have to understand that this goes beyond a small fight between father and son. It goes way beyond that. If Oliver doesn’t come to his senses and takes back his rightful place in the company after apologizing to his father -”

“As far as I’m concerned there’s an apology owed on both sides.” Felicity snapped back, completely unfazed by the fact that it was her foster mother she was talking to.

Looking slightly taken aback by the interruption and the harsh words, Moira quickly gained composure again and gave a small nod.  
“If Oliver doesn’t come to his senses and takes back his rightful place in the company - after apologies have been made - then the whole company is at stake. Thea isn’t old enough to take over in a few years, especially not without the needed degrees and at least a few years work experience. And neither Robert nor I can run the company for another 10 years, until she’d be old enough. There is only Oliver.” Moira smiled with a slight shake of her head. “It has always been Oliver. And he knew that from early on. That’s why he studied the things he did. To take over one day.”

Felicity silently listened to Moira speak, but the more she heard, the more she felt sorry for Oliver. When he told her about the fight with his father, she felt bad for causing such a stir in the family, something that she badly wanted to make right. But the more Moira revealed, the more her feelings of guilty conscience vanished, only to be replaced by anger. They never openly talked about company things outside of their offices, and Felicity never pried or asked about it. But this certainly was too messed up to leave it uncommented.  
“Don’t you feel one bit guilty?” she suddenly asked with a calm voice, after what felt like minutes of silence between the women. Moira furrowed her brow at that, clearly not following what Felicity was talking about.  
“Dumping all that weight on Oliver’s shoulders without even asking him how he feels about that? Because if you did, you would have realized how much you’re taking away of himself in the process.”

Moira was about to say something when Felicity continued, this time a look of disappointment on her face.  
“You know, that’s almost like Amanda did it with me, back when I had to live with them.”  
Bringing her old foster parents up made Moira sit a little straighter. Ever since legalities had been handled, Felicity had never spoken about her ex - foster family again.  
“By trying to force me to marry some rich guy that she approved of, to have babies to carry on the family name... things like that. Amanda didn’t care that this never was what I wanted for my life, she always kept telling me that it was my duty, being the oldest child in their family. Like giving up your own life for the greater good. That’s why I left them, because they tried to dictate my whole life. And I want to make my own choices, no matter if they’re smart or sometimes stupid. But they’re **my** decisions, not someone else’s. And I really thought you’d have seen it that way, too, when you agreed to take me in and heard about my story. But apparently you forgot, or you treat your own children differently. Either way, I’m not going to dictate Oliver how to live his life.”

And with that, she got up from the chair, straightened out her skirt, turned on her heel and walked out of the office, not sparing Moira one last glance. Right at that moment, she couldn’t care less if they’d throw her out of the mansion, or if Moira disapproved of her as well. She just knew that helping Moira to convince Oliver taking his job at Queen Consolidated back was something she’d never do. Oliver had told her that he didn’t want to work for his parents, let alone take over the company one day. And he told her he already had a new job.  
So if Oliver trusted his decision to be the right one, she was going to do so, too. Besides, she hadn’t said anything disrespectful to her foster mother. And if Moira had taught her anything in the past 3 years, then it was to have a strong character and never to be afraid to speak your mind.

 

The way back to her room seemed like a marathon, and she couldn’t wait the hop under the shower and then have a nice, long nap. Just when she reached the foyer and was about to head upstairs, the front door opened and a grim looking Oliver stepped in. The moment he spotted her though, his expression relaxed again.  
“Hey,” she smiled and walked over into his open arms, feeling all the tension instantly leaving her body.

“What’s going on?” he mumbled into her hair while he held her. “What did mom want from you?”

Feeling too exhausted to give him the detailed version of what happened, she stick with a short answer that explained most of it.  
“She wanted my help to convince you to go back to QC. I told her you should make your own decisions.” she shrugged slightly.

Pulling back so he could look her in the eyes, he grabbed her face with both hands and studied her for a moment before a warm, almost proud smile spread out on his lips.  
“I love you.”

Felicity let him kiss her, a small sigh leaving her lips when he pulled her a little tighter into his body. Standing there, despite having this awesome man wrapped around her, she realized how much her feet really hurt and how badly she wanted to just lay down for a while. Oliver, as if reading her thoughts, picked her up, wrapped her legs around his waist and went up the stairs with a confidence that surprised her, even though she probably threw him completely off balance and entirely hid his view of the steps in front of him. And still he managed to take the steps two at a time, bringing her up to her room within seconds.

Thankfully, Thea seemed to be just as worn out from the weekend as Felicity was, if the closed adjoining door between the girls’ rooms was any indication, so Oliver firmly closed the door behind them and immediately went for the bed.  
“Sorry to be a party pooper,” Felicity half giggled, half yawned when he threw her on the mattress and kicked off his shoes. “But all I want right now is some blissful sleep with my wonderful boyfriend next to me.” she smiled and patted the spot next to her. Oliver pouted slightly, but went to lie next to her

Part of him badly wanted to get his girlfriend naked and tangle in the sheets with her, but the other, bigger part of him, was just as exhausted as she was. So he only kicked off his jacket and crawled under the blanket with her. Holding her in his arms wasn’t exactly what he had in mind at that moment, but it certainly would do.  
They were both asleep within seconds.

 

It was Felicity’s persistent bladder and Oliver’s not-so-cute snoring into her right ear that pulled her out of her blissful sleep just 3 hours later. And even though she still felt hungover, the little sleep certainly had helped already.  
Deciding to head downstairs to see if she could get Raisa to prepare them a sandwich, she kicked off her now completely wrinkled dress, thanks to sleeping in it, put on some sweatpants and a shirt, and made her way to the kitchen. Raisa instantly pulled her into a hug and demanded to hear about all the things they did in Paris, while preparing a small tray of sandwiches and fruit for her. Felicity told her about the eiffel tower and all the small shops Thea had dragged her into and even showed her a few pics on her phone.  
“The vacation did you good,” Raisa smiled and gently nudged Felicity’s hip. “Your eyes are glowing. Or maybe it is because of Mister Oliver.” she added, making Felicity blush within an instant. She still wasn’t used to hearing people speak so openly about their relationship, but with Raisa she’d realized early on that she had a very strong ally. Out of all the people in the Queen household, aside from Thea of course, Raisa seemed to be the one bothering the least about them being together. Quite the opposite even. Raisa never shared her thoughts, but the way she kept looking at both her and Oliver and the encouraging words she always had for both of them made Felicity realize early on that there was a lot more to the elderly housemaid than was clear to the eye. It made her like Raisa even more.

With a plate full of food she headed back upstairs, just seconds before the main door opened and Robert walked inside. She could hear him talking downstairs and remembered she still wanted to have a word with him, but since she’d just woken up and Oliver was probably still dead asleep in her bed, she decided to postpone the conversation to a later date. Besides, Moira probably still had plenty of things to discuss with her husband, after the way Felicity ended the conversation with her foster mom just a few hours ago.

“A beautiful woman carrying a plate of food,” Oliver mumbled, his face partially hidden by the arm draped over his head. “I’m sure I’m still dreaming.”

With a soft snicker, she sat the plate on the foot of her bed before she joined him back under the sheets. At some point while she was in the kitchen he must have kicked off his jeans and socks, or he’d done it before she fell asleep. She was way too exhausted to notice just a few hours ago.  
“Robert just got back home.” she told him and grabbed a sandwich, the amusement gone within a second. “They probably discuss an appropriate punishment for my snappy departure.” she half laughed with a small frown on her face.

“I don’t want you to get dragged between this any more than you already are.” Oliver sighed. She was already way too involved as it was and Oliver knew this wasn’t solely about Felicity. Robert only disapproved that Oliver for once refused to do as he was told, and probably hoped to have some leverage against him with Felicity.

Felicity stopped chewing at his words and leveled him with a hard stare. “It was your father who dragged me into this, Oliver, just like your mother tried to shortly after. And while I appreciate that you want to keep me as far away from all this as possible, there’s no way I’m going to let you do this alone.”

God, how he loved her. His strong, beautiful and confident girlfriend and without a doubt his strongest ally against everything and anything that might come up to them.

“What are you going to do now?”

Well, that was a good question. With the almost palpable tension in the air between them, there was no way things could stay like that. Especially not if Oliver stayed in the mansion. But what should he talk to his father about? There wasn’t much left to say and Oliver definitely didn’t plan to apologize for standing up for himself and his girlfriend.  
“I think I’m going to avoid him for a while, at least until feelings have cooled down a bit. It’s not that he’s going to change my mind anyway, so why bother.” he shrugged and polished off the rest of his sandwich. Moira probably would want to talk to him as well, but with the jet lag still hanging in his bones and the fact that Robert was at home, too, he postponed that conversation to a later date, when he could catch his mother alone in the office.

Thea only stuck her head in once in the afternoon, but when she saw Oliver and Felicity cuddling together on the bed, watching some chick flick, she quickly ducked out again. With Oliver at the mansion, chances were good she could catch Tommy at the Merlyn manor. She felt a little sorry for being so snappy and bitchy to him that evening in Paris, and sneaking out of the mansion to apologize and spend some little alone-time with him sounded just like the right plan at the moment.

 

When Raisa called for dinner two hours later, Oliver and Felicity reluctantly got out of bed and made themselves somewhat presentable. Neither knew if Robert and Moira were still present, but both felt a little anxious to go downstairs to the lions den, not knowing what might await them. When they entered the dining room together, hands firmly entwined, Robert looked up, his face morphing to a completely stony expression the moment his eyes met Oliver’s. Moira looked almost apologetic and much to Felicity’s dismay, Thea was nowhere to be found.

The dinner started in complete silence and a tension that made Felicity incredibly nervous, only the clinking of the silverware breaking the silence in the room. She could feel Robert had something he wanted to say but held himself back, while Oliver seemed so on edge he was about to jump off his chair the first moment someone spoke a word. When Raisa took away the plates, Felicity took the moment and grabbed Oliver’s hand under the table, giving him a supportive squeeze. It instantly calmed him.

Just when dessert had been served, Moira’s calm voice broke the silence.  
“So how is school going, Felicity? I heard you gave up a few tutoring students?”

Felicity had to take a sip of her water before she felt safe to reply. Thankfully, Moira decided to keep the conversation light, not that Felicity would’ve mind getting the dinner over with in complete silence.  
“Yes, I decided to cut back a bit so I have more time for my own exams.” she replied and forced a small smile. Oliver still kept completely silent, but if the way he squeezed her hand under the table was any indication, she could only imagine how tense he must’ve been at that moment.

“Good, good.” Moira nodded and folded her napkin, “We were a little worried all your extracurricular activities, and now the vacation to Paris, could have set you back a bit.”

That’s when Oliver’s strained control snapped, making Felicity look around in surprise.  
“For god’s sake, do you ever think about anything else? Felicity is by far the best student in her class, will be valedictorian and has several god damn colleges ready to kiss her feet! But guess what? There’s more to life than just school, and apparently Felicity manages to keep her grades perfectly high while still going out to meet friends, go on vacations and visit the gym several times a week. Cut her some slack, will you?”

By the end of his speech, he was practically fuming and it took all her strength to keep Oliver in his seat next to her. Moira had fallen completely silent, even looking slightly apologetic towards Felicity. Robert, however, looked like he was about to explode. His face was beet red and the napkin that had been laying neatly folded in front of him just minutes ago was now a crumpled victim of his fist.

“So this is how it’s going to be now, son?” Robert suddenly snapped from beside Moira, making Oliver look up and directly face his father for the first time since they entered the dining room. “First you decide to ruin all of our lives and now hers, too?”

Robert’s nasty words made Felicity inhale. Up until now she had never heard Oliver and his father talk so angry, especially not about her. And she certainly hadn't heard her foster father disapproving of their relationship like that before. She wanted to leave, and that as fast as possible. But Oliver’s tight hold of her hand and the fact that this problem wouldn’t be solved by avoidance made her stay rooted in her seat, her stomach full of knots.

“You and I both know that this is not about Felicity, or the fact that I ‘ruined’ this family, _father_.” Oliver almost laughed back. “I simply just offended your pride when I stood up to you for the first time in my life, and that even in front of an audience.”

“Shut up!” Robert suddenly yelled and shot up from his chair, his finger angrily pointing over the table towards Oliver. “I’m not going to tolerate you ruining what your mother and I built up from the ground only because you feel like living some stupid rebellious streak. It is time you come to your senses and understand what is at stake for this family, what you are putting everyone up with. This is unacceptable, just as this... ‘thing’ between the two of you!” he yelled, a hand waving dismissively in Oliver’s and Felicity’s direction.

Felicity swore she could feel Oliver stop breathing for a second, her own blood frozen in her veins. Moira thankfully had the presence of mind to try and calm her husband down a bit, while Felicity wondered herself if she still had enough energy to stop Oliver, should he decide to get up and lunge at his father over the table. Seconds ticked by with no one saying anything, but when she felt Oliver loosening his grip on her hand and push back his seat, part of her panicked.  
“We’re done here.” he only announced and turned his attention to Felicity and waited for her to get up from the chair as well.

Without another word, Oliver and Felicity left the table to head back upstairs. Just when they were about to leave the dining room, Oliver stopped and faced his mother again.  
“Don’t bother getting my stuff packed, I’ll do that myself.”  
Not giving her a chance to reply, Oliver turned, Felicity’s hand safely tucked in his, and made his way back to the safety of her room. 

 

Thankfully, no one made an appearance in her room after that. Moira and Robert must’ve known that Oliver was still with her, but stayed away nonetheless. Not that she would’ve been able to stand another fight like that, anyway.  
After spending two hours in his room, packing up stuff and filling suitcases with all his clothes, Oliver took the first load of stuff over to Tommy’s place. Thankfully his best friend could give him shelter for a few days until he figured something out. She would’ve felt even worse if he’d had to pay for a hotel room, on top of everything.

Just barely 12 hours ago they were together on a plane, spending some blissful time together like everything was perfect. Now it all seemed so far away, with her lying in bed alone while Oliver probably still talked things out with Tommy.  
She was about to fall asleep when the adjoining door to Thea’s room opened with a slight squeak. Felicity looked up to see her best friend peeking through the door, a sheepish smile tugging at her lips.  
“Where have you been?”  
Thea looked around the room for a moment, even checking out the bathroom. When Felicity realized what she was doing, a small smile tugged on her lips.  
“Oliver’s not here.”

Having a seat at the foot of the bed, Thea couldn’t hold back the small smile and blush coloring her cheeks.  
“I’ve been at Tommy’s.”

At that, Felicity’s back went rigid, her eyes wake and alert.  
“Did Oliver see you?”

“No, why should he?” Thea frowned.

With a sigh, Felicity recapped the incident from earlier during dinner, even though she gave Thea only the very short version of what actually happened. Exhaustion and a headache of death weighed too heavy on her at that moment for detailed explanations.  
“So Oliver headed over to Tommy’s place with a few bags and boxes. He just left 30 minutes ago, you must’ve been lucky not running into him.”

Thea plopped on the bed next to her friend and covered her face with her hands.  
“God, if he would’ve seen us... he would have first killed Tommy and then me.” she sighed. “Even though I can’t say I feel bad for missing dinner. Sounded like one hell of a time.”

“Yeah, ‘hell’ probably is the only correct word describing what happened.” Felicity sighed and fell back into her pillow. “Look, can we talk tomorrow? I’m completely beat and really need some sleep. Especially since Oliver wants to pick up the rest of his stuff tomorrow morning. And god knows that _morning_ usually means the middle of the night for that man.” she groaned, making Thea snicker.

“Sure. Want to take the horses out for a ride tomorrow? Seems like we both need the distraction.”

“God yes! I’ll ask Raisa to prepare us a lunch box as soon as I’m up.” Felicity smiled with a nod.

Thea got up from the bed and walked over to her own room.  
“Night, Fee. Love ya!”

“Love you, too. And tomorrow I want to hear everything about Tommy and you. Every dirty detail.” Felicity mumbled into her pillow half asleep, her eyes closed already, making Thea snicker slightly. Of course Felicity would want to know. But then again, Thea was so thankful for being able to have someone to talk about her ‘thing’ with Tommy so openly, she didn’t complain that her best friend was prying for information. It was still a ton better than not being able to talk about it at all but constantly having to be on edge, something Felicity knew all too well about herself.


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another long one. Lots of stuff happening. A lot of stuff coming up in the next Chapter. You would never guess! Ha! :D
> 
> Enjoy! :)

Felicity’s morning started shortly after 7am with a text from Oliver, letting her know he was on his way over. Part of her wanted to groan at that, but the bigger part of her could understand Oliver’s intentions. The sooner he got his stuff out of the mansion, the sooner he was done with the whole ordeal and didn’t have to risk running into his father again. Especially not after the fallout during dinner the night before.

Deciding to push the planned conversation with her foster father a little behind, given the circumstances, Felicity got out of bed and got dressed. As usual, Raisa was already up, roaming around in the kitchen.  
“Raisa, do you ever sleep?” Felicity asked with a small smile when she walked into the kitchen, thankful to see her personal mug already waiting for her on the kitchen bar. The housemaid didn’t reply but only smiled warmly.  
While sipping her coffee Felicity couldn’t help but think about the last night and how things got out of hand so quickly.  
“Raisa, can I ask you something?” she asked the maid, who never stopped working but smiled and nodded.

“Anything, Miss Felicity.”

“Do you think I’m breaking this family apart? I’m sure you heard the fight during dinner last night. Even a deaf person would’ve been able to hear that.” she sighed. “It made me wonder, once again, if I’m breaking this family apart because this isn’t something I ever wanted to do. The Queens have done nothing but help me in the past 3 years and now it feels like I’m causing a rift between them.” The thought had kept her awake almost all night and ever since the fight between Oliver and his father, things seemed to be getting only worse instead of better. And no matter how she tried and turn it, in her head it always led to her being the cause for all that.

That made Raisa stop working and look up at the young woman sitting opposite of her. Felicity didn’t look at her, she kept her eyes focused on the steaming coffee in front of her, seemingly lost in thoughts. Raisa didn’t say anything for a long time and when Felicity guessed she wouldn’t get an answer from the maid at all, not that she ever expected one in the first place since Raisa rarely spoke her mind, the maid surprised her when she actually replied.  
“My dear, don’t you ever think that! It isn’t my place to speak about Queen family business, so forgive me if I overstep boundaries right now. But I don’t think you are breaking this family apart. If anything, you are the glue this family has needed for many years.” Raisa smiled and patted Felicity’s hand once.

Felicity clearly couldn’t follow the maids train of thought and could only furrow her brow at her words.

“Long before the Queens welcomed you to their family, everyone only minded their own business. Miss Thea often stayed out all day while Mister Oliver was rarely at home at all. Family dinners, like the ones you are having now, were only served every few weeks at best. It saddened me to see a family living together but being so far apart nonetheless. But it’s not my place to say anything, of course. And then you came to this family and things changed. I actually get to prepare a family dinner at least once a week now, sometimes even more. Miss Thea is at home now most evenings of the week, looking more relaxed than I’ve ever seen her before. And Mister Oliver? He is a completely changed man. He’s smiling more, looks happy, and doesn’t seem to prefer staying away from home any longer, as much as he did before you arrived here. So you see, you’re not breaking apart this family. You actually put them back together.” Raisa smiled with a confident nod, not doubting her own words one bit, and went back to work on the bread dough in front of her as if everything important for her had been said and things don’t need to be discussed further.

Hearing Raisa speak so openly really stunned Felicity. Of course the maid knew of almost everything going on in this house and probably even more than that, but never in the 3 years that Felicity lived under the Queen roof had she heard the maid speak so much, especially not about her employer, people that Felicity knew she called ‘friends’ more than that.  
It took her a moment to process everything Raisa just told her, but as soon as the words sank in, another wave of doubt clouded her mind.  
“But how can you think I’m putting this family back together when I am actually the reason Oliver is moving out and won’t speak to his father?” Of course Raisa already knew about Oliver’s move-out. If she hadn’t heard it last night at the table, then she’d definitely seen him carry the first few of his boxes out of the mansion last night.

“You see, that’s where you are wrong.” Raisa smiled. “Mr Queen and Mister Oliver are two very stubborn men. And until lately, Mister Oliver always obeyed his father’s wishes. To be honest, it always saddened me a bit to see the boy’s future so predefined, but this really isn’t my business. But then you came into his life, and since that day I’m seeing a different Oliver. A more poised, more confident one, and I think because of you he started to decide for himself. That’s not a bad thing, even if it seems that way to you right now.”

“How can you be so sure of that? All I’m seeing right now is one of the Queen siblings moving out and quitting his job at the family company, apparently threatening the entire business because of it. That doesn’t look very good at all, from my point of view.” Felicity sighed.

“Give it time and you will see.” was the rather cryptic answer that Felicity got before Raisa ended the conversation in her own way by resuming to work the bread dough. When she was about to head back upstairs, the distinctive sound of footsteps in the hallway made her look up. Seeing Oliver entering the kitchen, a small smile lighting up his face the moment he spotted her sitting at the kitchen counter, made her smile as well. Having to spend the night alone sucked big time and she couldn’t wait to hear what Oliver’s plans were and how his conversation with Tommy went.

After a hug for Raisa and arming himself with a large cup of coffee they both headed upstairs to work through Oliver’s last clothes and boxes. Since his Porsche could barely transport 2 people and a bag, they decided to take Felicity’s car, giving them time to talk about his plans in private.  
“It’ll be so weird without you in the house.” Felicity sighed and loaded one of his boxes into the back seat of her BMW. She didn’t want him gone, but knowing he was living down the road, even if just temporarily, really helped her.  
“So what are you going to do?” she asked him as soon as she steered the car off the property and on to the Merlyn manor. The way things were between them wasn’t ideal at all, given the fact that Oliver wouldn’t be sleeping at the mansion and she couldn’t sneak out to Tommy’s place every night when she had school. Moira definitely wouldn’t approve and she really didn’t want to upset the Queen head more than she already had. So a suitable solution was something Felicity would’ve greatly appreciated.

“Well, for starters, _we_ are going to see my temporary place now. Tommy offered me to stay in one of the Merlyn lofts for overseas clients down in the city. Since they closed the branch office in Japan two years ago the lofts are hardly ever used, anyway. He said I could stay there for as long as I want and take my time looking for a place. It’s also very close to Starling High, and has an underground garage for multiple cars. So you could stay there with me a few nights a week and won’t have to worry about getting to school.” he smiled broadly, looking far more relaxed than the night before. The whole mess didn’t actually seem to faze him one bit, something that still surprised Felicity very much. How could she feel more affected by all this than him who was even more involved than she was?

“Do you think Moira will agree to letting me stay overnight during school week?” Felicity asked, her eyes never leaving the road while Oliver explained her where to drive.

“You’re 18 years old, sweety. It’s not that she can lock you up in the mansion any longer.” Oliver half laughed, half groaned.

“Yeah but I really don’t want to cause any more anger within this family. So laying low for a while definitely isn’t the worst idea I’d say. And I won’t do this by asking her if she agrees to let me sleep at your place, in the city, while school days.”

Oliver could understand why she was hesitant to take that step, but the bigger part of him just wanted to grab her, pack her stuff as well, and just take her with him. But of course she wouldn’t agree to that, at least not until he had his own place and settled things with his parents first. Or with his mother, at the least.  
“Let’s check out the apartment first, and see how far from school it actually is. Maybe Mom won’t be so averse once she hears you’re almost in walking distance to the school and the company.”

 

Of course the entire building was nothing but luxury and of course it wasn’t that Felicity expected anything less from the Merlyn’s. Tommy’s father had always been one for opulence and overstatement. But Oliver was right, the loft was indeed in just a very short walking distance to Starling High, as well as the yoga studio and any other facility she normally frequented. The fact that Oliver would have an apartment all to himself, with no one to walk into them or to interrupt them, also helped.

It took them 2 tours to get everything he’d need upstairs to the 23rd floor before Oliver took her out to lunch.  
“So how long do you plan to stay at the loft?” Felicity asked him when she stirred her coffee. Ever since the big fight during dinner they didn’t really have the time to talk, much less discuss Oliver’s plans for the future, so she was happy that they had a few moments of silence, only the two of them.

“At least until I’ve found a place to rent. Tommy offered to get me in touch with one of his realtor friends. I’ll talk to him later and see what he says. I don’t want to move too far from the city, to be honest, but renting a place downtown depends a lot on the area.”

“You still haven’t really told me what you’re going to do now,” she replied, thoughts about monthly rents in the average thousands and how he’d afford that if he didn’t want to rely on his parents flying through her head. “I mean, I know you said you have a new job already, but what is it that you do?”

Oliver couldn’t hide the small smile tugging at his lips at her words. She looked genuinely concerned about him and his future, something that really warmed his heart. It was just another reminder of why he loved her so much.  
“Two years ago Tommy and I started investing in the stock market. What started out as a silly idea quickly turned out into a quite lucrative side job. At least for me. So I started acquainting myself with the business a little more. Turns out I have a knack for anything stock market - based, leaving me with a nice chunk of money every month. So I kept it up during my time in college and even after that.” he shrugged like it was no big deal, but Felicity looked at him so utterly surprised that he couldn’t help but blush a tiny little bit. There weren’t many things she didn’t know about him by now, but this definitely was something he hadn’t told her about before. “Turns out it was a pretty good idea of mine because on my way over to the mansion I got a call from my buddy Lou, who works for the Starling National Bank, telling me that my father froze all my accounts this morning.”

“He did what?” Felicity called a little too loud, pure shock covering her face. When a few heads around them turned and looked their way, she ducked her head and lowered her voice again.

“It’s not a real surprise to me, Felicity.” Oliver shrugged, looking completely unfazed by the news his banker had dropped on him just a few hours ago. “Like I said, I don’t rely on their money.”

“But are you successful enough to finance your own life with it? And is it a stable income?”

“It is,” he nodded with a small smile. “In fact, it’s been a quite stable income for me for a long while now. Stable enough that I didn’t have to depend on my family’s money at all in the last two years.”

That earned an outright shocked look from his girlfriend. She clearly didn’t expect to hear that, and the fact that he was able to tell her about an achievement of his, one that seemed to stun her so much, at that, made him proud. There weren’t many things he’d classify as ‘personal achievements’ in his life so far, so this one definitely was something he was proud of.

“So you’re saying you have been living completely off your own money in the last two years? With any purchases you’ve made, anything?”

The proud nod and Oliver’s smile made her sit up a little straighter.

She didn’t look utterly convinced, though.  
“What about your car? Or all the gifts you got for me?”

“Well, the first Porsche was out of my parents’ money, but when I traded it for the new model, I completely paid that one myself. Same goes for your gifts.” he grinned. She looked so completely stunned by everything he’d just told her that casually explaining her that he’d purchased a 100.000$ car on his own didn’t really help, apparently.

And then a thought crossed her mind.  
“What about Castiel?”

“Even Castiel.” Oliver replied and took one of her hands in his. “He’s a very personal gift from me to you. Paying him with my parents’ money would’ve been just wrong. I wanted to give you something from me, something that I worked and paid for myself.”

The sincerity in his eyes made Felicity tear up. She’d loved the gift ever since the day she’d received it from him, but she never spent a thought about how he must’ve purchased Castiel, or even with whose money. All she cared about was the fact that Oliver had gotten her the most thoughtful and wonderful gift she’d ever gotten. Knowing now that he even spent his very own hard earned money on the horse instead of just swiping his parents’ credit card through, made her love him even more for it.  
The look of awe on her face made him smile. He loved surprising her, even if it was just with a few information about him. And then he could see something else form on her face entirely - pride.  
“God, I love you.” she whispered completely at awe, making him smile even more and lean over the table to steal a kiss from her lips.

 

It was a text message from Thea, telling Felicity that she was bored as hell and waiting for her to come back to the mansion so they could take the horses out, that pulled them out of their bubble and reluctantly made them leave. Just when Oliver was about to turn and open the door for Felicity, he almost crashed into a very familiar face.

“Ollie.” Laurel smiled after stepping back to catch herself, completely ignoring Felicity standing right next to him. “I haven’t seen you in a while.”

“Yeah, I’ve been pretty busy.” he replied curtly, clearly not in the mood for a conversation in the middle of the coffee shop, with his girlfriend by his side, the woman Laurel still so consequently ignored.

When she cast an annoyed glance away from Oliver and over to the person standing to his right, she gave Felicity a way-too-fake looking smile and held out her manicured hand.  
“I don’t think we’ve ever been introduced before. I’m Laurel Lance. You’re Felicity, right? Oliver’s adopted sister?”

Oliver flinched when he heard Laurel’s arrogance-laden words and was about to say something when he saw the almost devilish smile on Felicity’s face.  
“Girlfriend, actually.” she replied and shook Laurel’s hand, pressing the brunette’s fingers with a little more force than actually needed, just to mark her territory properly. This definitely wasn’t just a male thing. When she let go of her hand, she hooked her arm through Oliver’s and leaned on to his shoulder with a broad smile on her lips.

Laurel quickly retreated her hand and looked from Felicity up to Oliver, confusion and shock written all over her face.  
“I didn’t know you had a girlfriend.” she told him with an almost accusing tone in her voice, clearly disgusted by what she just heard. Oliver just had no idea if it was the fact that he was dating Felicity, the former Queen-foster-kid, or if it was him dating someone in general, someone that wasn’t her.

“Guess that’s what happens when you don’t cross paths that often any longer.” Oliver half shrugged and interlaced fingers with Felicity, sending her a bright smile over his shoulder. “If you’ll excuse us now, Felicity and I have somewhere to be.” he grinned, making Felicity snicker.

With a slight eye roll, Laurel nodded and stepped away from the door.  
“Alright, have fun then. See ya, Ollie.” she replied and walked around them and up to the counter.

“I’m sorry she was so mean,” Oliver said as soon as they were out of the coffee shop and walking back to the parking garage. He was ready to give Laurel a piece of his mind when she disrespected Felicity like that, but once again his girlfriend surprised him by seeming completely unfazed of Laurel’s words and behavior.

“Oh it’s okay,” Felicity shrugged and followed him into the building and down to the parking garage. “I just realized I’ve never known her true character until now.”

 

Back at the mansion, Thea was already waiting for Felicity in the foyer, dressed in her riding gear, ready to leave right away.  
“Give me 10 minutes to change and we can head off.” Felicity laughed at her best friends’ eagerness and headed back upstairs. After a quick stop in the kitchen where Raisa had prepared them a ton of food for their trip, Felicity met Thea at the stables, the horses already saddled and ready to go.

“It’s been way too long since we’ve last done this.” Felicity sighed with content, enjoying the silence and fresh air of the woods surrounding them while the horses carried them along the trail. And it had indeed been weeks since the girls last had the chance to spend some quality time together with the horses, just like they did almost every day when Felicity first arrived at the Queen mansion 3 years ago.

“So how is Ollie doing? I heard mom and dad talk this morning when you were gone. Mom tried to argue about Ollie’s accounts or something?”

“Yeah, Robert froze Oliver’s accounts this morning.” she replied with a small sigh, not sure if Oliver would want anyone to know, but since Thea had already heard her parents talk about it, Felicity didn’t see any reason not to tell her. 

At her words, Thea looked back at her in surprise.  
“He did what??”

“Yeah, that were my words, exactly. But Oliver already got it covered, so all good there.”

“Covered how?” Thea replied, clearly intrigued by Felicity rather vague answer.  
“You better ask him that herself, Thea. I don’t want to tell anything that’s his to tell.” Felicity honestly replied with a small shrug, hoping her friend would drop the topic and move on. She really didn’t want to reveal Oliver’s plans to anyone without having talked to him about it first. The fact that he’d told her about it this morning didn’t exactly mean that everything was set to stone yet and ready to speak about, so she’d rather kept her mouth shut.  
“So what with you sneaking out on me and visiting Tommy?” she grinned and waggled her eyebrows at Thea. That seemed like the perfect topic to steer her friend away from anything Oliver-related for a moment. Besides she was genuinely interested in the things going on between her best friend and her boyfriend’s best friend.

At the change of topic, and especially the mention of Tommy’s name, Thea blushed profusely, something Felicity had never seen her do before.  
“He asked me out.”

“You mean like a date?” Felicity replied, surprise and excitement for her friend coloring her voice.

“I think so,” Thea shrugged slightly and slowed her horse down so she could ride next to Felicity. “At least it sounded like that when he asked me to have dinner with him, only with him. Not that I mind having you and Ollie with us, but with my brother being there it always kind of dampens the mood. Tommy’s way too nervous that Ollie could suspect anything.”

“Oh my god that’s so awesome! When is the date? What are you going to wear? Where is he taking you?”  
The questions almost bubbled out of her, making Thea laugh out loud. Ever since Tommy had asked her out, officially, in Paris, Thea had been a nervous wreck herself about where he’d might take her and what she should wear. But knowing her friend was just as excited helped her a bit. So she wasn’t just overreacting.

“Breathe for a moment, Fee.” she laughed. “He hasn’t told me anything yet. But if you want to help me, we can go dress shopping tomorrow anyway. I decided to buy a few different dresses for multiple occasions, just to be sure.”

“Oh my god I’m so down for that!” Felicity squealed excitedly. “I’m so happy for you, Thea. I know how much you like him.”

The girls spent the rest of their day in the saddle, with Felicity pressing Thea for details about the afternoon she spent with Tommy alone at the Merlyn manor and more chit chat about the upcoming date. Halfway on their tour they did a stop and enjoyed the treats Raisa had packed them, when the topic changed to school and the college applications both girls had filled out just a few weeks before.

“Have you decided where to go yet?” Thea asked over a mouthful of steamed chicken, while feeding the broccoli on her plate to her horse.

“I really want to go to Central State, but I haven’t heard from them yet.” Felicity shrugged.

“With your grades they would be blind and stupid if they didn’t accept you. Have you decided on any majors yet?”

“Well if I get accepted at Central State I’ll probably go for Animal Science.”

“So this whole ‘I want to become a vet someday’ talk when we were 14 wasn’t just talk?” Thea replied, a small smile tugging at her lips at the memory of the first day Thea had taken Felicity to the stables and showed them the horses the Queens owned. Felicity had been completely drawn in by the fact that Thea owned a few horses, even though they technically were her parents’. From that day, regular visits at the stable had been mandatory every time Felicity was over at the mansion.

“No, not at all.” Felicity smiled and looked over to her friend. “What about you?”

“I’ll just wait for the replies from the colleges, then I’ll decide.” Thea shrugged. The fact that the girls probably wouldn’t be able to study at the same college hung between them for a while now, since it would be the first time they’d be separated ever since Felicity arrived back in Starling City.

“But you’ll still go for fashion design, right? If anyone, it’s you who’s made for that.” Felicity smiled and nudged her friend’s hip with hers. “After all it’s you I have to thank for everything in my closet. And on my feet. And on my head.”

At Thea’s confused look, Felicity snickered slightly. “Well if it hadn’t been for your... persistence, back when Clarissa pulled that number on me with the whole Cheerleading fiasco, I’d probably still be a brunette with way too untamed hair.” she laughed, making Thea giggle as well.

“God, Clarissa was such a bitch.” she replied. “Did you hear that she’s pregnant?”

“Shut up!” Felicity shouted with a laugh and whirled around on the small bench to face her friend.  
“Yeah, and if rumors are true, 3 guys from the Central City high school football team are up to discussion of being the father.” Thea snickered, not feeling a least bit sorry for Clarissa. That woman had always been a bitch, but the way she treated Felicity over a year ago made her lose all last flicker of respect Thea had for that woman.

 

The girls arrived back at the mansion early in the evening, but since Moira and Robert were still in the office anyway, they didn’t bother to make it back to dinner on time. Since Oliver already texted earlier that he’d be looking at possible new places with his realtor and that it’d probably take all afternoon, Felicity and Thea settled for some popcorn and a chick flick in the movie room as their evening entertainment. 

 

The following days some routine started to form for Felicity. Every morning it was Oliver’s voice that woke her up through the phone to start her school day, followed by a still somewhat tense breakfast with her foster parents. Robert still didn’t seem to accept that Oliver and Felicity’s relationship and obviously couldn’t even look at his foster daughter, something that still kind of hurt Felicity. Moira, however, at least tried to mend fences with her foster daughter, asking her about her college applications and school exams. It was the only form of conversation Felicity got with her foster parents ever since the fight almost a week ago, and sometimes she wondered if she was the one who should make the first move towards them to clear the air, but in the end she never did. It wasn’t her who started this fight and she’d been dragged into it unwillingly, too, so she didn’t really see the point of bringing this conversation up. So she accepted the situation for what it was at that moment and dealt with the small snippets of shallow conversation over breakfast and dinner.

Thea, bless her heart, was a lot more vocal about things however. What started out as a strong disagreement with her father over kicking Oliver out and cutting him off quickly changed into a shouting match between father and daughter, ending with tears and an escape from the dinner table on Thea’s side and a strong comment from Moira to her husband in a voice that Felicity had never heard her foster mother use before. It shut Robert up immediately. Felicity excused herself from the table shortly after, telling Moira she’d look after Thea, earning a small but thankful smile and a nod from the Queen head.

Oliver never made an appearance for the family dinners. And while Felicity first tried to talk him into at least giving it a try, she was glad Oliver had vetoed the idea, if the fight between Thea and her father had been any indication of how tense things still were. Oliver being there would’ve done no one any good.

Whenever Thea and Felicity had different classes and couldn’t ride back home together, Felicity took the time to pay Oliver a visit. Tommy had made sure to leave two key cards to the apartment, giving her the chance to surprise Oliver every now and then with lunch.  
She usually found him sitting hunched over a large amount of papers, sometimes about apartments that his realtor had found, but most of the time it looked like stock market stuff, something Felicity had no idea about and wasn’t too interested to get acquainted with. But no matter what, she realized she had never seen him so relaxed, especially not at work, even though she couldn’t still wrap her head around the fact that Oliver was now able to work from home most of the time and didn’t have to be at the office at 8 in the morning any longer. Either way, she enjoyed seeing him so relaxed, so at ease no matter how stressful his work looked. It seemed like a ton of weight had been lifted off his shoulders the day he quit his job at QC, and seeing him like that helped Felicity believe it was the right decision, too.

He sometimes visited her at the mansion, too, but always made sure to avoid running into his parents at all cost. Moira knew Felicity was spending her afternoons with Oliver and even asked her how he was doing one day, looking a little sad that Oliver was avoiding her so much, even ignoring her calls. Felicity took the small conversation to go ahead and ask how her foster mother felt about her spending one or two nights a week at Oliver’s place. She was sure Moira would disagree, or at least tell her she felt bad about this since Felicity still had school to attend, but much to her surprise her foster mother was okay with it. It felt like a little step back to how things had been between them before the fight, something that Felicity was very grateful for. It also meant she could finally spend the night in Oliver’s arms again, at least two or three times a week. Having to leave every night to avoid just more stress in the mansion felt bad for her, but seemed like the most responsible thing for her to do.

 

Two days later Felicity found herself completely alone at the mansion except for Raisa rummaging around in the kitchen. Oliver had told her he’d be looking at a few more places and had some work stuff to handle so he’d be out until at least the evening and Thea had some school trip that she couldn’t skip, leaving Felicity all by herself. She contemplated on going to the yoga studio, just to kill the time until she could meet with Oliver for dinner, but decided that some studying would be the wiser idea. A firm ass would get her nowhere in college.  
A soft knock at her door pulled her out of her concentration. A quick check on her phone revealed no new message from Oliver, nor was it the right time for him to come and pick her up. And it wasn’t exactly that she expected some visitors, if her very casual tank top and shorts were any indication.  
“Yeah?” she cautiously asked and waited for the door to open.

When Tommy’s head peeked through the door, an impish grin on his lips, she gave him a small smile.  
“Oh hey, Tommy. Thea isn’t here, she’s still at school working on her culminating project, but she should be home in an hour or two.”

“Actually,” he began and opened the door a little wider, taking one hesitant step inside her room. “I was looking for you.”

“For me?”

“Yeah. Do you have a minute?”

She studied him for a moment, realizing for the first time how tense he was, entirely different to the loose expression he normally wore all the time. A quick look down at her books told her that she wasn’t in the mood to study any more anyway, so she closed them and looked up at him again.  
“Sure, how can I help you?”

Tommy turned and closed the door behind him, then walked over to the adjoining door to Thea’s room and closed that one as well after risking a quick look around. His whole off behavior made Felicity only frown even more. When he walked up and took a seat at the edge of her bed, she did the same, all while making sure to keep a respectable distance between them, given her rather light clothing of sleep shorts and a tank top. No need to make the situation any more awkward.

His fidgeting around definitely made her even more confused and when he finally spoke up, Felicity instantly relaxed as well.  
“I might need your advice on something,” he began, making her sit straighter within a second. Tommy coming over asking her for help had never happened before. Usually she was the one asking Oliver’s best friend for help or advice, especially when it came to surprising Oliver. “Or at least I’d like to hear your input.”

“Okay. Shoot.”

Tommy looked around her room once more before he faced her again, looking completely nervous and uncomfortable. Felicity found it kind of adorable to see Tommy Merlyn so out of his comfort zone, even though she still had no idea what this was about.  
“I, uh... I’m sure you already know about... I mean, I’m sure she already told you about -”

“You’re talking about Thea and you.”  
Tommy gulped and nodded, looking as nervous as she’d ever seen him. He clearly felt very uncomfortable talking about this topic and Felicity could relate to that all too well.  
“Well, how can I help you?”

He sighed and rubbed his face with his hands, clearly trying to find the right words.  
“I don’t know. I just wanted to talk to you since Ollie and you... I mean, you have been in the same situation, so I kind of hoped you could give me some advice on how to handle things... because I’m really at a loss here.” he confessed and looked up at her.

It took Felicity a moment to gather her words. She definitely didn’t expect to see Tommy at her doorstep that day, and she most definitely didn’t expect such a conversation to take place.  
“Okay, well... this is kind of weird.” she confessed with a small laugh, earning a small chuckle from him as well. “I mean, of course Thea and I talk about stuff, but honestly, I don’t know how I could help you?”

“I’m unsure what to do. And that’s been keeping me up for quite a while now, to be honest. I mean, she’s still underage, so what should I do? I can’t give in to my feelings like that.”

“So there are feelings?” Felicity replied, a protective streak for her friend kicking in. She knew how in deep Thea was with Tommy, and if she got the impression he wasn’t having the same feelings about her she wasn’t going to help him.

“More than I’m ready to admit or even understand.” he sighed with a small nod.

Felicity got herself a little more comfortable on the bed and looked over at him.  
“Okay, this is kind of weird and I try not to think about it too much that you and I are talking about your and my best friend’s sex life right now,” she laughed, making Tommy chuckle as well. “And I can’t give you any real advice except that if you decide to really do this with her, you have to stay faithful. And not just from the day you two are allowed to sleep together, but from the day you actually commit to each other. And from what I’ve seen from Thea so far, she’s already pretty in deep with you. So all I can really tell you is, be sure in your decision.”

“Jesus,” he groaned and leaned back onto the bedpost, eyes closed. “I wasn’t even thinking that far. It freaks me out enough as it is thinking about how to handle the situation with her age and the fact that she’s my best friend’s little sister we’re talking about.”

His words made Felicity laugh slightly. She could relate to that all too well.  
“Well, this may sound like a phrase, but nothing worthwhile ever comes easy.”  
When Tommy didn’t reply, she continued. “Your situation is a little different from mine and Oliver’s. With you, there’s more at stake than the relationship between Thea and you, and some legalities of course. If you mess it up, either way, you’re risking Oliver’s friendship, too.”

Tommy let out a sigh and rubbed his face with his hands, letting Felicity’s words sink in.  
“So you’re telling me I should break things off with her before it gets even more intense?”

“No, that’s not what I mean. I’m just saying that you have to be sure that, no matter how you decide, this really is what you want. If you decide it’ll be too much, tell Thea, but tell her soon. In that case, Oliver doesn’t even have to find out. Thea will be heartbroken, no doubt, but it would be the most honest way. If you decide to give it a try between you two, Oliver has to know at some point, of course. And I don’t think I need to to tell you that you have to be the one telling him.” she smiled.

“He’ll rip my head off.” Tommy groaned.

“Of course he will,” Felicity laughed slightly, “but imagine what he would do if he found out through someone else.” she smiled knowingly.

 

That conversation at least helped him clear his mind about a few things, even though he still had no idea how to keep Thea at arm's length for another 2 months. Making a mental note to set some ground rules and have a conversation to clear up some things between them, he checked his calendar to find a free night when he made his way back home from the talk with Felicity. The sooner he could talk to Thea, the better. Besides, he couldn’t wait to spend some more time alone with her, just the two of them. The afternoon she’d spent at his place, cuddling and snuggling with him like some teenagers, made him realize that.

Deciding to take the chance, he sent her a short text, letting her know he wanted to take her out this saturday. Her response came almost immediately and made him grin like a fool.  
 _’And you’re telling me now? On a monday? How am I supposed to sleep until then?’_  
He couldn’t wait to take her out. Now he only needed to find the perfect place and form a plan on how to sweep her away without anyone noticing.

 

The rest of the week was spent with Felicity and Thea out shopping almost every afternoon for the perfect date-dress, before the girls usually parted ways so Felicity could spend the evening with Oliver. On thursday Moira even asked her to ask Oliver to join them for dinner, but since Robert hadn’t made any move towards Oliver or Felicity yet whatsoever, Oliver still refused to sit at the table with them again.  
On friday evening, Oliver managed to drag Tommy out of the house for some drinks out in the city, something they apparently hadn’t done in way too long. Tommy wasn’t really in the mood, not wanting to stay awake half of the night at some club when he was about to spend the following evening with Thea, but of course he couldn’t tell his best friend that. So he agreed, making a mental note to just have a drink or two and then slip away as soon as possible.

The first row of drinks flowed easily. Oliver was in a very talkative mood about his apartment-hunt, something Tommy greatly appreciated. He didn’t want to appear unsociable, but he definitely wasn’t in the mood to start any conversations, not that he had anything to talk about besides Thea at the moment, anyway. And that was a topic he very well couldn’t broach with Oliver, of course. At least not at a club, with alcohol flowing in masses and loud music and other guests interrupting.

As soon as the waitress left with Oliver’s order for a second round of drinks, a busty brunette in a tight bandage dress and way too high heels wobbled over towards their table, putting an extra sway to her hips when she saw Tommy look over at her.

Tommy had no idea who she was, but apparently the woman knew him.  
“Tommy Merlyn, it has been way too long since I’ve seen you out here. You avoiding me?”

_Absolutely._  
“Nooo,” he shook his head, a polite smile on his lips, even though he didn’t feel like smiling at the woman whose name he yet had to find out. “Just been busy.”

“Oh, right, I remember you saying you’re becoming the biggest businessman in Starling in the next 24 months. I believe you also said not only your job title would match the word _big_ ,” she giggled at herself and flicked her hair over her shoulder. “That still true?”

From beside him, he could hear Oliver snort before he took a sip of his whiskey. At that moment, Tommy wished he’d had ordered something stronger than just rum and coke. That woman seriously grated on his nerves and his best friend apparently wasn’t about to make any move to help him out of his misery. Quite the opposite, actually. Oliver seemed to enjoy himself way too much.

When ’whats-her-name’ was about to sit down right next to Tommy, forcing him to slide back deeper into the booth in the process, he stopped her with a raised hand.  
“Look, Shelly, I really appreciate you wanting to wallow in the past with me, but right now I’d rather enjoy a drink with my best friend. In peace.”  
He tried to sound polite, he really did, but the fact that he wanted that woman gone from their table fast didn’t really help keeping his voice that way. And since he didn’t have any idea what her name was, he went with the first one that came to his mind. And that woman clearly looked like a Shelly.

The scrunched nose and small slits that suddenly looked at him told him that Shelly apparently wasn’t her name, though.  
“My name is Carly, you asshole. Go enjoy your night with your best friend, I hope you choke on your own drink!” she snapped at him, turned on her heel and wobbled away from them, almost toppling over twice. Or maybe it was just her way to catch someone else’s interest, since the dress was short enough to flash her buttcheeks every time she toppled over her feet. Tommy had no idea, and he didn’t care.

When he sat down with a small sigh, Oliver eyed him a little warily after watching Carly walk away from the VIP area and down to the dance floor.  
“What is going on with you lately?”

Tommy furrowed a brow at that.  
“What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about the fact that you just denied yourself the easiest lay ever! And now that I think about it, I haven’t seen you with any conquests in a while now -”

“Just like you.” Tommy cut him off while forcing an easy smile and wink, even though he was pretty sure his face lost all color. Oliver suspecting something definitely wasn’t what he needed right now.

“Yeah, with the difference that I am in a relationship, my friend.” Oliver shot back with a quirked eyebrow. “So what’s going on? You hiding a secret girlfriend you don’t want me to know about?” he grinned, making Tommy almost choke on his drink. Funny, wasn’t that what Carly just wished him a mere 2 minutes ago?

“Girlfriend? Me?” he laughed nervously after clearing his throat, desperately trying to sound as casual as possible, even though he most certainly wasn’t. “I don’t do girlfriends, and you know that.”

“Very true.” Oliver nodded with a small chuckle and for a moment, it hurt Tommy hearing his best friend confirming the words that he didn’t feel but had to say. It just confirmed him that Oliver would probably never approve of him as a suitable boyfriend for his little sister. And despite the pang of hurt that he felt at Oliver’s words, he forced a smile on his lips, trying to keep up the charade. Not only for Thea’s sake but certainly for his own as well.

 

The mood didn’t seem to want to pick up again after that, at least not for Tommy. Some college friends joined them at the table shortly after, and when the rounds of shots started to roll in, Tommy took the chance and excused himself for a moment from the group. Countless shots and two rum and coke certainly had done their work on him already.  
When he returned from the restroom and saw his best friend and their buddies laughing at the table, he decided to call it a night and send Oliver a text, letting him know he didn’t tolerate the shots too well and had to catch a cab home. That way he could still catch up on some sleep and wouldn’t have to feel bad for leaving his friend alone at the club.

Oliver quickly replied and, much to Tommy’s surprise, only wished him a relaxed night and to catch up soon. No protest whatsoever from him, something Tommy definitely would’ve expected. At least Oliver didn’t seem to have noticed how much off his behavior had been all night.

 

The next day Tommy awoke to a text from Felicity, telling him she and Thea would have to borrow the pool house to get her ready unseen for their date. The text message made him smile for various reasons. One was the fact that he’d be going out with Thea that night, of course, but another one was that he apparently had a great ally in Felicity when it came to the ‘relationship’ between him and Thea. And that was something he was very grateful for, given the fact that he basically had no one to talk about except Thea and Felicity. Plus, her taking care of preparations also meant he didn’t have to form a plan on how to sweep Thea away unseen. If she got ready in his pool house, it meant that they could leave together from the house. That only left him to take care of the reservation at the restaurant and to find a safe route out of Starling City where he didn’t risk anyone seeing them together, dressed to the nines. Because he really had no idea how to explain that.

Some time in the afternoon, the back door opened and closed, followed by two giggling female voices. When Tommy peeked out from the small office, he saw Thea raiding his fridge while Felicity waited for her near the patio doors, loaded with garment bags and a small trolley. Tommy had no idea how in the world they’d need all that stuff, but as long as Thea looked as beautiful as she always looked, when he was about to pick her up, he definitely wasn’t one to complain.

The girls didn’t even notice him watching them, giving Tommy a chance to listen to them talk for a moment.  
“So you think the blue one or the burgundy one?” Thea asked, her upper body hidden behind the open fridge door.

“Let’s just get you ready and see. We have plenty of time to try everything on.” Felicity assured her.

“Do you think Tommy will like it?” Thea almost whispered back, barely hearable for him. The way she sounded so adorably unsure made him smile.

“He would like you even if you wore a garbage bag.” Felicity laughed. “Have you seen how that man is looking at you?”

Her friends’ words made Thea blush. She loved that not only she was seeing it but others as well. It helped her realize she wasn’t imagining things.  
“I wonder what shirt color he’ll be wearing. Or if he wore a tie. Maybe we could color match.”

“I’ll ask him later.” Felicity smiled. Tommy took this as his cue to step out of hiding.

“No tie, but the shirt will be a dark blue.” he grinned and stepped into the room, making both girls whirl around in surprise. Thea looked stunned for a moment while Felicity quickly made sure all garment bags were closed, not that he wouldn’t see the dress later anyway. But the effort still looked kind of cute.

“Perfect.” Felicity smiled with a confident nod, linked her arm through Thea’s and pulled her off to the patio doors, pointing towards the pool house. “We’re out there. Don’t bother coming in.” she warned him with a pointed finger before dragging a laughing Thea out the door.

 

Tommy made sure to send Felicity a text to let her know when Thea needed to be ready. He was dying to take a peek at the girls but didn’t risk wanting to feel Felicity’s wrath. Plus, the girls both seemed excited to surprise him with Thea’s look later and he didn’t want to spoil the mood, even though he was curious as hell.

Exactly 2 minutes to 7pm he heard the patio doors open and close, even though no giggling or talking was audible from the living room. Tommy waited patiently in the foyer, his nerves already running on overdrive. When Thea rounded the corner though, she completely took his breath away.

It took him a full minute to come back to his senses and find the words to speak. It wasn’t that he hadn’t seen her dressed up plenty of times already, even to highly formal events with their families, but the fact that she’d dressed up in that gorgeous navy blue floor length gown, just for him, made his knees go weak. He’d had his fair share of dates, even some more special, but never before had he felt like he was feeling when Thea stopped in front of him, a incredibly sweet shy blush coloring her cheeks, her eyes twinkling with excitement.

Not a word passed between them for more than a minute, with both looking the other deep in the eyes. It was Felicity clearing her throat who broke the silence and pulled them both out of their trance.  
“I hate to break the staring contest between you two lovebirds, but if you keep doing that, you’re going to run late for the reservation.” she smiled, an almost amused grin tugging on her lips.

Thea still didn’t seem to get it together, so Felicity walked over and handed her her purse.  
“Moira said the Gala will probably last until late in the evening. I told her we’ll have a girls night at the garden shed, like old times. She wished us lots of fun, so don’t worry about it. I’ll stay in the garden shed and take my time to study a bit. Just text me when you’re back and I’ll make sure to get you inside unseen.” she winked.

“What about Oliver?” Tommy suddenly cut in from beside them. “Wouldn’t you want to spend the evening together?”

“I told him I had to study for the exams coming up and since I spent so much time at his place rather than studying in the last week, he didn’t even start to argue. AND I can actually take some time to study, so technically I didn’t even lie to him.” she smiled, before she ushered them both out of the door. “And now go and have fun!”

“Thank you, Fee. I owe you one.” Thea smiled and hugged her friend one last time before following Tommy down the steps to his black Aston Martin waiting for her.

“You both do!” she called with a laugh, earning a wink from Tommy.

 

Tommy couldn’t stop catching glimpses at her whenever he had to stop the car at a red light. Thea looked so beautiful tonight, he wondered if it was just the way her hair and makeup was done, paired with the dress, or if he hadn’t seen it so clearly ever before.  
“You look beautiful,” he spoke softly, pulling her out of her thoughts and making her look over at him, a shy smile tugging at her lips. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look so stunning before.”

Thea had no idea what to say to that. Returning the compliment would fit, but since she’d seen him in a suit hundreds of times already, he didn’t really look any different to him.  
“Thank you. I wanted to look special for this special occasion.”

 

There wasn’t much more time for conversation though, when Tommy left the main road and steered his car up a smaller hill road. Thea realized she had never been to that area of Starling City before and she had no idea if they even were still in Starling City at all. When he pulled up in front of a small restaurant, nestled in the woods at the cliffs of the hill, her mouth fell open.  
“Oh my god, Tommy! It’s amazing out here! Where are we? I’ve never been here before!”

With a smile, Tommy helped her out of the car before handing the valet the keys to his car.  
“We’re at Hollins House, run by one of my college buddy’s girlfriend’s parents. They just opened a few weeks ago, so it’s still pretty new and unknown. But it seemed like the perfect spot for us, so I booked a table for us here.”

He stole a short kiss from her lips before she could walk up the steps to the restaurant, making her blush slightly.  
“Thank you for coming here with me,” he murmured into her neck, his arms protectively wrapped around her waist. “I’m happy.”

“Me too.” she whispered back and hugged him tightly. For the first time in a very long time she didn’t have to worry showing public affection towards him without being seen or judged. Casually fooling around in hiding was something that sounded fun in the beginning, but after a few months it really started to weigh on Thea. Whenever she hoped for more, or at least a more open behavior, there had been things ruining it for them.

 

They were seated at the large window front, overlooking the creek right below them with Starling City gleaming in the far distance. But all the beauty was nothing to the woman sitting opposite of him. Completely engrossed with the outlook, Tommy actually had the chance to fully check her out for the first time without being caught. He’d always found her cute when she was younger, something that only intensified when puberty hit her and she’d finally started to become the woman she was now. But up until that moment he had no idea how deep his feelings really ran.  
Part of him wanted to have this dinner date with her to figure out if he really could do this with Thea. Felicity’s words still lingered on the front of his mind all week, making him question everything he’d done with Thea so far. But the more he thought about it, the more he realized he needed to spend time with her under normal circumstances, like normal couples would do, to see if his feelings were the same.  
The fact that he could totally see himself dating the woman who currently sat opposite of him definitely helped making a decision. He loved her charm and witty humor, the only thing he’d never been sure of was the question if they would fit together in public; if she was any different with him as her partner as she was when they were out as friends. So far she hadn’t said much, but still seemed to be at ease and happy.

A bottle of red wine and some casual talk about school and his job seemed to do the trick. Thea visibly relaxed the more the night progressed, even started making jokes every now and then. It also helped Tommy to relax, taking away a tension from him he hadn’t felt in years, especially not when he went on a date. But of course, with Thea everything seemed to be different.

“You know,” Thea began and made Tommy look up at her from his dessert. “When you asked me out in Paris, I started to wonder... why then?”

It didn’t take him long to answer that.  
“I should have done it way sooner. I just had no idea when to do it. And I needed to figure out a few things first.”

“About my brother.” she replied, a small frown tugging at her lips.

“No, not about him. About you and me. That’s the only thing that matters to me. Things with Oliver will get handled when the time comes.”  
That reply made her look up at him again, a flicker of hope glowing in her eyes again.   
“I want you to understand that I’m not staying away from you because I’m not sure about this. I’m doing this to keep myself from doing something stupid, at least until your 18th birthday.”

Thea let his words sink in for a moment before she replied, still a little fearful she might understand him wrong.  
“So you’re saying you want to do this? Really do this? With me? Despite what my parents or Ollie might think?”

“Yes, I really want to do this with you. That is, if you want that, too. I have no idea if things will work out, or if you’ll have enough of me after a few weeks, but I at least need to give it a try. You’ve become way too important to me and I would be a foolish idiot if I let you move on.” he told her, his voice full of honesty. “And contrary to your belief I’m not scared of anyone’s opinion.” he smiled and took a sip of his water.

They talked about her upcoming birthday and what she had planned while finishing dessert. Tommy didn’t want the evening to end, but he knew he couldn’t take her home with him. Besides, she started to look a little sleepy, something that he entirely blamed on the wine and not some boring company. So very reluctantly, he paid the bill, helped Thea out of the restaurant where he stole another two or ten kisses from her. It was the valet who casually cleared his throat after they stood making out for minutes next to Tommy’s car with the engine running and the doors wide open. Thea blushed profusely when she caught the valet trying to hide an amused smile, but Tommy seemed to enjoy himself way too much.

Some time during the drive, she’d fallen asleep. Tommy found it so cute that he had to pull over and snap a picture of her. And even though her head was leaning to the side, her mouth slightly opened, she still looked drop dead gorgeous.  
After shooting off a short text to Felicity, letting her know he was on his way to drop off Thea, he steered the car back onto the road, making a mental note to plan another date like that one very soon.

 

A soft knock on the apartment door lulled Felicity out of her sleep. After waking up to a text from Tommy, she’d gotten up and settled on the couch to wait for Thea, but sleep still got the best of her again. When she opened the door she didn’t see her best friend standing there though but Tommy, carrying a very sleepy Thea in his arms.  
“Fragile delivery for you.” he whispered with a smile and watched Felicity step back so he could enter. “She fell asleep during the drive back home and I didn’t want to wake her up.”

Felicity pulled back the covers so Tommy could place her on the bed.  
“This poor girl has been a nervous wreck ever since you told her about the date. She barely slept last night, so this -” she gestured toward the sleeping Thea in his arms with an amused grin on her lips, “doesn’t surprise me one bit.”

Her words made him chuckle. Thankful he wasn’t the only one affected by the date all week, he placed one last kiss on her forehead before he straightened up and turned to leave.  
“Thank you for your help tonight, Felicity.” he whispered with a last glance back to the sleeping Thea on the bed. “You helped me see things a lot clearer.”

“I didn’t do much. That was all you. But just for the record, you still owe me one.” she whispered back with a grin, earning a mischievous wink from him before he slipped out the door and back into the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With the next Chapter almost done editing, I should be able to post it some time after the weekend. And then it's only one more Chapter before we're officially at an end with this Story. :)


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really should have split this up in two Chapters, but since I didn't want to stretch the story any longer than it already was, here it is all as one.  
> 13k+ words of a ton of things happening! :)
> 
> Enjoy! The last Chapter should be up in a week, hopefully. :)

The amazing date with Tommy left Thea floating above the ground the following week. She was in such a good mood that at some point it even started to grate on Felicity’s nerves. And she would have loved that as an excuse to spend more time at Oliver’s place, but since several important exams were coming up, she really needed some time to study and focus. So Oliver did something he hadn’t done in more than 3 weeks. He went to visit Felicity at the mansion, even at the risk of meeting his father.

Raisa was delighted to see him there and wouldn’t even let him leave before dinner. Oliver was about to decline, when Felicity assured him that Moira and Robert were out of town until late in the evening and already announced they wouldn’t be able to join them for dinner. After that, he visibly relaxed and even agreed to stay for dinner.

Thea was, not very surprising, away for the afternoon and Oliver didn’t really mind that much. It meant that he could spend the afternoon with his girlfriend alone, something they hadn’t done in way too long for his liking.

They were about to relax on the loungers by the pool when Raisa opened the door and walked out to them.  
“Miss Felicity? There’s someone to see you.”

Felicity sent the maid a surprised gaze before looking over at Oliver, who looked equally surprised.  
“Are you expecting someone?”

“No.” she shook her head and pulled on her dress. “I’ll go and see who it is. Don’t jump in before I’m back.” she laughed at him with a grin and pointed finger and walked over to the patio doors on bare foot.

When she rounded the foyer, an elderly man with grey hair, dressed in an expensive looking suit, stood waiting for her, a suitcase in hand. Raisa had let him in, but apparently didn’t bother to offer him a seat in the living room before Felicity arrived. She also cautiously waited a few feet away until the man introduced himself, something Felicity was very grateful for.

The man sent her a warm smile, almost looking as if he’d met a long lost daughter again. Felicity had no idea how to place that.  
“Miss Smoak?”

“Yes?”

“I’m Albert Robles, the lawyer of your parents. Could we get somewhere to talk, by any chance?” he asked her with a soft tone in his voice, a small smile tugging on his lips. He didn’t look like a threat to her, but the topic that he breached immediately let her go on alert.

“What’s the matter?”

“Maybe if we could sit down and I can explain -”

Felicity stopped him with a raised hand. “No, Mr. Robles. I’d like to make something very clear. I am not, nor will I ever be, interested in any matters regarding my adoptive parents. So I’m sorry to say this, but you’ve wasted your time coming here.” she told him with a firm voice, gripping the footpost of the stairway tightly to keep her anger at bay. It had been so long since she last heard about her adoptive family, and she surely wasn’t about to change anything to that.

If the lawyer was surprised by her sudden outburst, he hid it well. Instead, he kept his warm smile plastered on his face and let her finish whatever she had to say before he replied, his voice still sounding completely calm and unfazed by her harsh words.  
“I’m not talking about your adoptive parents, Miss Smoak. I am talking about your parents, Donna and Sebastian Smoak.”

Felicity felt her knees go weak. She hadn’t heard someone say her parents’ names in more than 10 years, in fact only very few people actually knew them. Not even Oliver or any of the Queens did, for that matter.  
“Like I said, I would very much like to discuss that somewhere in private.” Mr. Robles added and watched Felicity gulp and nod absently. It took her a long time to gather her thoughts before she nervously looked around the foyer, trying to make up her mind and find a room to sit and talk. When she gestured for him to enter the dining room and have a seat at the large table, the lawyer willingly followed her.

 

“What’s going on here?” Oliver suddenly spoke up when he entered the room and saw Felicity sitting opposite of a strange face he didn’t recognize.

Both the lawyer and Felicity looked up at his words. With a few quick strides Oliver had closed the distance between them and stopped right in the personal space of the lawyer. The older man got up from his chair and offered Oliver a hand.

“Albert Robles, I’m the lawyer of Miss Smoak’s parents. Mister Queen, I take it?”

Oliver watched the lawyer like a hawk before he flashed a quick glance at Felicity, who only gulped and nodded slightly to confirm his words.  
“Oliver. Mister Queen is my father.” he added and let go of the lawyer’s hand before rounding the table and placing a kiss on Felicity’s head.  
“Raisa told me there was a lawyer talking to you. Everything alright?” he whispered into her hair, earning a small nod from her.  
“What is this about?” he openly asked after eyeing the various papers spread out on the table in front of Felicity.

“Oh I’m sorry but this is a personal matter, Mister Queen.” the lawyer politely replied and took a seat at the table again.

Oliver was about to intervene, when Felicity grabbed his hand to stop him.  
“No, it’s... it’s okay. I would tell my family anyway, so he can know now, too.”

“Very well.” the lawyer added and motioned for Oliver to have a seat. “I was just informing Miss Smoak that her parents got in touch with me 15 years ago. They wanted me to set up a fund - so to speak - for you, in case something happened to them.”

“What does that mean?” Felicity asked in total confusion.

“That means you’re the sole heir of the Smoak family fortune, if you want to put it that way.” he explained with a warm smile and soft voice before leaning back in his seat, watching Felicity while the words sank in. Her mouth hung open in shock and other than looking at Oliver in hope of finding a logical explanation on his face, she couldn’t do anything else.

“What fortune?” she asked after what seemed like an eternity, her voice barely a whisper. “When my parents passed away, everything had been taken by the government. The house, the car, I wasn’t even allowed to keep our dog because I couldn’t take it with me to the orphanage. There must be a mistake, because there is no fortune, Mr. Robles.” Felicity told him, her voice sounding firmer with every word she spoke. There surely must be some kind of morbid mistake. She’d know if something like a fund had existed. Multiple lawyers had checked everything out back then; her parents’ accounts, financials, everything they could find had been taken into funding her time at the orphanage and the funeral of her parents. She was told if there would be any money left as soon as she turned 18, it would be handed to her. That hadn’t been the case, so of course, the lawyer must have mixed things up here.

“That’s where you are mistaken.” the lawyer smiled broadly. “The fund your parents have set up had been handled under your mother’s maiden name. And since everything had been handled many, many years before their terrible accident, no one was able to find it.”

“But why now?” Oliver suddenly piped up from beside Felicity. “Why are you coming to tell her this now, after all these years?”

“Because your parents made it very clear to keep the fund sealed and hidden until your 18th birthday.” the lawyer replied, never taking his attention away from Felicity.

Her mind was on full overdrive now, thoughts racing through her head and she could feel a giant headache starting to form. She would need a good amount of sleep after that, that much she knew already. But there were hundreds of things that demanded answers first.  
“How? I mean... what is left? Because everything I know of had been taken away from me.”

“Not quite.” the lawyer replied and proudly snapped his finger before fumbling in his suitcase for something. Felicity sent Oliver a helpless look and squeezed his hand under the table, glad he was there with her and she didn’t have to do this on her own. Even though Oliver looked equally confused, he smiled and placed a light kiss on her temple.

“It is true that the property on 1173 Hurst Street, Las Vegas, had been taken away, as well as your two family cars,” the lawyer began and fumbled through the folder before he placed 3 different sheets in front of her. “However, there is one property as well as two more lots, undeveloped so far, that have been part of the fund your parents set up for you.”

Felicity studied the papers in front of her for a moment, completely unable to understand what the lawyer was talking about.  
“I don’t think I can follow.”

“What I’m trying to say is that - “ he began, only to be cut off by Oliver.

“Your parents gave you your own house.” he spoke up, taking one of the papers in his hand to read it a little more closely. Felicity’s head snapped around at that, total shock and surprise evident on her face.

“A log cabin, to be precise.” the lawyer smiled proudly. “And two more properties that you can use however you see fit.”

“A house? Where is it? Why didn’t they ever tell me about this? I need something to drink.” All the information made her head swim.

“I’ll go get you something.” Oliver replied and got up from his spot, placing a kiss on her head. “You want a coffee, Mr. Robles?”

“I’m good, thank you.” the lawyer smiled and watched Oliver leave the room before he turned his attention back to Felicity who was still staring at the paper in her shaky hands. Reading the information printed on there, along with purchase dates and information of ownership, her brain slowly seemed to follow up the wave of information that just had been unloaded on her. When he saw her relax slightly, the confusion slowly leaving her body while she studied the sheet, the lawyer leaned back in his chair and smiled. “That wasn’t all yet.”

Her head snapped up at his words just when Oliver entered the room again, a glass of orange juice in his hand.  
“It wasn’t?”

“Your parents also set up a deposit account for you. I am unaware of the amount that has been put in there, but I am sure your local bank will help you finding out.” he replied and handed her another sheet, stating a ton of numbers that didn’t make any sense to her. When Oliver examined the paper, he looked over at her and pointed toward one number printed on the far corner.

“That’s your own account at the Nevada State Bank. We can call and have them send over information regarding your account balance to find out what’s on there.”

That made her head start to swim again. A house, a bank account, and two more properties, all set aside for her by her parents years ago. And none of them ever said a word to her about it, at least not that she could remember. The thought made her wonder in which shape the cabin was. If this was really hers and no one else had made use of it in the last years, it meant that the house was sitting by itself for almost 15 years now.

“Where is this log cabin located?” Oliver piped in from the side, asking something that Felicity had already wondered.

The lawyer had to shuffle through his papers and quickly pulled out a sheet with a map on it. “In Idaho. At lake Coeur d’Alene, to be precise.”

At that name, Felicity’s eyes went wide. “My grandparents have lived there. I’ve never been there before but I remember Mom talking about it a few times.”

“And the other lots?”

"They are right next to the lodge, one to the left and one to the right. I talked to the realtor that’s handling the properties in that area, and he told me that the two lots are some of the most sought after on the market of this area right now. They give the lodge an undisclosed view over the lake and also provide a form of privacy, since no homes could’ve been built on them. So the lodge is basically hidden from view on a private road, leading solely to your house, surrounded by wood on both sides.”

“Do you have an address?” Oliver asked and pulled out his phone. When the lawyer rattled off an address, he quickly punched it into his phone and pulled up a map of the area.  
“Holy shit!” he whispered, when the picture started to clear and showed the satellite screen of a large house, nestled between nothing but greenery, sitting right at a small private beach on Coeur d’Alene. He couldn’t make out anything in particular, but compared to the other houses visible in the far distance around the lake, the log cabin looked huge. 

Felicity’s eyes went wide when she saw the area and quickly grabbed the papers off the table marking the property lines for the 3 lots, comparing it with the map on Oliver’s phone.  
“And all this is mine?” she asked, completely overwhelmed.

“It is.” the lawyer replied with a smile and a nod. “There’s nothing for you to do except sign 4 documents and accept the keys to the lodge as well as these deeds of ownership.”

When he placed a set of keys on the table and handed her a pen and slid over the papers she’d have to sign, her fingers started to shake. Carefully and with Oliver’s help, they read through every page before sharing a look.  
“We can get everything checked by a lawyer, Felicity. You don’t have to sign anything now.” Oliver whispered to her, completely ignoring the lawyer that was sitting just a few feet away from them.

And just when she was about to nod at him, thankful that he offered her to have everything checked by a professional, another thought crossed his mind.  
“What about property taxes? 3 lots, especially such large ones, can get very expensive.”

For a moment, something like awe flickered in the lawyer’s eyes. He clearly didn’t expect to hear so thorough questions.  
“All taken care of. Your parents made sure that all money needed to have the properties taken care of will be taken out of your deposit account. They made sure there will be enough money in it to cover taxes for the next 20 years as well as a general amount for repair - and maintenance costs. It was very important to your mother that you wouldn’t have to worry about money or having to probably sell the property because money ran tight. So they covered everything in advance.”

Felicity had no idea what to say. She even had trouble grasping everything that just had been unloaded on her. Thankful that Oliver stepped in for her once again, she just sat there and looked at all the papers on the table.  
“This is a lot of information, Mr. Robles. Would you agree to have our lawyer look at the documents to verify correctness and authenticity? I’m sure you’re under no deadline to have these documents signed.”

“No, that’s absolutely fine.” He gathered all the papers on the table to one large pile and placed his business card on top of it before he got up from the chair and closed his suitcase. “Take as much time as you need. You can keep all the documents, I have copies in my office.” he smiled and turned his attention to Felicity. “It was very nice to see you again, Miss Smoak. You might not remember me, but when your parents first came to my office, you were just a little girl, barely 3 years old. Your parents were wonderful people and it saddens me what happened to them. I never got to pay my deepest condolences to you, so please accept them now.” Felicity could only gulp and nod at his words. Getting up from her chair, she followed Oliver and the lawyer to the front door.  
“Mister Queen, it was a pleasure to meet you,” the lawyer spoke and offered Oliver a hand. After exchanging a short handshake, the lawyer turned his attention to Felicity again. “Miss Smoak, thank you for having me today. Please take as much time as you need to look over the documents. My private and my office number are marked on the card. Call any time.” he smiled and offered her a hand as well. She hesitantly took it, still completely overwhelmed by everything that happened within the last hour.

“Thank you” she rasped out before the lawyer went out the door, closing it softly behind him. Once they were engulfed in silence again, Felicity turned to look up at Oliver.  
“What did just happen?” she asked him, her voice barely a whisper.

“I think you just became a home owner.” Oliver replied, looking equally stunned.

“What am I supposed to do now? It feels like my brain turned to mush.”

“Want to check and see what my lawyer says? I can call him and ask if he has time now?”

Not wanting to wait a minute longer, she agreed and sprinted up the stairs to change. The sooner she could verify if all this was true, the sooner she could try and figure out the next steps.

After a rather quick visit with Oliver’s lawyer, where they dropped off copies of the papers and documents and were told it’d take him a few days to check everything, Felicity was at a loss at what to do next. Until they’d heard back from Oliver’s lawyer, either validating the correctness of the documents or telling them everything was just some made up bogus, there wasn’t anything Felicity could do until then.  
“Want to take a look at the lodge?” Oliver piped in from the driver’s seat when he drove them back to the mansion, making her look over at him with a cocked eyebrow. “Oh come on, sweetheart! Don’t tell me you’re not curious to see the house in person!”

“Yeah, sure, but -” she shrugged when Oliver cut her off.

“No but. You have the keys, remember? And until proved otherwise, we’re going to believe what that lawyer told us is the truth, meaning the house is yours. And of course you’re eligible to check out your own property.” he added, a mischievous grin playing on his lips. That was a typical Oliver. Sometimes he was just like his little sister, a little too adventurous for her liking, but still fun as hell. And he had a point. Of course she was dying to check out the house, especially since they could find zero pictures of it on the internet and only got a very blurry satellite pic from the roof via google maps.

“But it’s Idaho, Oliver. Are we supposed to just... drive there?”

“Why not?” he asked with a shrug, looking way more convinced of his idea than Felicity. “You have a day off school tomorrow anyway, so why not take the time and drive over to Coeur d’Alene?”

“Oliver, that’s a thousand miles one way! You’re not actually saying we should drive 2000 miles in 24 hours, just to have a look at a house that we know nothing about!”

Now that she’d said it out loud, it actually made sense to Oliver was well.  
“Okay, what about asking Tommy to borrow the jet? If it’s not in use, that would be the fastest way to get there.”

Okay, that idea actually didn’t sound too bad. Coupled with the fact that Tommy still owed her one for covering for Thea, she could actually use that to ask him about the company jet. Not that she would tell Oliver that.  
“Okay, but since this is my trip, I’m going to be the one asking Tommy. You can figure out getting a rental while I’m at it.” she nodded and hopped out of the car when Oliver pulled up in front of the mansion. He was about to follow her when he saw his parents’ car pull up the driveway. Felicity saw them as well and turned to watch the car come closer, then look at her boyfriend. Oliver clearly had no idea what to do, other than wanting to get into the car and just leave.

Felicity walked back to him, wrapped her arms around his neck and placed a sweet kiss on his lips.  
“Go. It’s okay, you don’t have to stay. I’ll talk to Tommy and will call you later.”

Just after he nodded and was about to release her and get back into his car, Moira got out of the limo and walked over to them, surprise all written over her face at seeing Oliver for the first time in more than 3 weeks. Robert followed close behind, but his stony face didn’t give away any expression.  
“Oliver! It’s so good to see you here again. How have you been?”

Oliver knew his mother well enough to hear the sincerity and concern in her voice. Apparently the whole fiasco with his father, who still stood unmoving behind his wife, left her more rattled than he’d thought. Sometimes he missed her, too, since they’ve never fought over anything before and Moira usually defended her kids. But the fact that she’d taken Robert’s side by demanding Felicity’s help in getting him back to the company had left him rattled and hurt. And he wasn’t about to give in so quickly.  
“I’ve been fine.”

Obviously expecting to hear more from him, Moira looked a little lost for a moment, but quickly covered it again with a smile.  
“Why don’t you join us for dinner? I’m sure Raisa wouldn’t mind cooking for one more -”

“Thanks for the offer, mom, but I have somewhere to be. Maybe another time.” Oliver cut her off, his lips pressed to a thin line. He didn’t even feel like smiling at her, not with his father shooting daggers at him with his eyes.

“Yeah, maybe.” Moira frowned and for a moment it surprised him that his mother didn’t even try to hide her disappointment. So her hurt definitely ran deeper than he’d thought.  
He turned to Felicity again and placed one last kiss on her forehead.  
“Call me as soon as you’ve talked to Tommy.”

Robert didn’t bother watching him drive away, but Moira stayed rooted on her spot, a sad look crossing her face. She didn’t even look up when Felicity walked over to her.  
“Give it a little more time. He’ll come around.” she told her foster mother, trying not to sound too smart-aleck. Moira didn’t reply but caressed Felicity’s cheek for a moment, a sad but grateful smile on her lips.  
“I’m sorry, Felicity.”

And with that, she walked up the stairs and inside. Felicity had no idea what that sorry was meant for, but with the sad look on her face towards Oliver and her, she could only imagine what was going through the Queen heads mind.

 

Tommy agreed to give them the company jet for the weekend since it was in use the entire week, but demanded an invitation for a get-together there in the future, should it turn out as her place. Felicity gladly agreed since it sounded like an awesome idea, anyway. And if Tommy had revealed his relationship to Oliver by then (and she really hoped so!), they could even do a double-date vacation.

Together with Oliver, Felicity decided not to tell Moira and Robert about the lawyer’s visit and the lodge yet, at least until she’d heard back from Oliver’s lawyer and had the chance to check out the lodge in person.  
When on thursday, Oliver’s lawyer called to inform him that indeed everything was authentic, that even the official property deeds were in Felicity’s name, he immediately called to let Felicity know. It only added to the excitement to see the house in person.

The biggest part of her wasn’t excited to see the house because of the house itself, but because of the hope she might find some last remnants of her family there, maybe even a picture of her parents - something she’d dearly missed having.

It took them only a little over an hour to land on a small, private airstrip near Coeur d’Alene, and with an additional 45 minutes by car, Oliver steered them along the lake to their destination.  
“It’s beautiful out here.” Felicity gaped out of the window over the lake. As soon as they left the city and drove along the state road, they reached the driveway leading up to their address. A gate stopped them, with a burly bearded man eyeing them from his small guardhouse. Oliver and Felicity both got out and walked over to the man. The nameplate on his shirt read R.Smith and Oliver acknowledged the man with a short nod.

“Is this the road to 41542 S Highway 97?” he asked while Felicity pulled out the documents of ownership. She figured if there was a guard watching the gate, they’d have to show him they were heading there for a reason and didn’t just want to snoop around.

“Depends on who wants to know.” the man grumbled back, his arms crossed over his belly. He clearly had no intention to let them pass and drive up there.

“Me.” Felicity replied with a firm voice and handed him the document of ownership for the property. She wasn’t going to back away from a grumpy guardsman being the last hurdle from having a first look at her parents’ legacy.

The guard watched her for a second before he took the paper from her and looked it over. After studying it quickly, something seemed to pique his interest. He looked up from the paper, his gaze sweeping up and down Felicity, before it returned to the document in his hand again.  
“Smoak? I haven’t heard that name in over a decade.” he said with a tone sounding a lot warmer than just two minutes ago and handed her back the paper.

Felicity’s eyes went wide at that statement. “You knew my family?”

“Your parents, I assume. But like I said, I haven’t seen a Smoak here in over a decade, probably longer.”

Buzzing open the gate, he gestured for them along the road. “It’s the last house down the road. You can’t miss it.”

Felicity was already hopping back in the car when Oliver asked one last question.  
“You said it has been well over 10 years since you last saw someone coming to the house. Has anyone taken care of it since then?”

The guard nodded. “The maintenance team has a key to the property to keep an eye on it. They’re paid monthly, just like me. I never questioned where the money came from though.” he shrugged.

With that, Oliver got back in the car and drove past the gate and onto the well kept private road. Smaller roads went left and right, leading to private properties. Some looked like people were living there, while others looked like vacation places that were currently unoccupied. When the road became a little narrow, Oliver made a last turn to the left, until a large wooden building came into view.

A beautiful lodge, completely built in weathered barn wood and stone sat to their left. Right in front of them, a large double garage sat nestled between the trees. Peeking down beside the house, Felicity could see the deep blue of the lake shining in the afternoon sun.  
“It’s beautiful out here!” she called out loud, making an equally stunned Oliver nod in approval.

The well kept lawn and immaculate look of the building would’ve never given the indication that this house hasn’t been used or lived in for more than 10 years. Obviously the people who were paid to keep the place intact did their job well.

Felicity took a hesitant step up to the front door, taking in the whole area. Oliver gave her the moment to herself, knowing how much she hoped to find any remnants of her parents inside the house. When he saw her hand holding the key to the house shaking though, he took a step towards her and took the keys from her hand.  
Intertwining fingers with her, he opened the door to the lodge. It took Felicity a moment before she made a hesitant step forward, her eyes darting around through the lodge. Despite Oliver’s expectations there weren’t any spiderwebs covering the house, nor was any major dust visible. The hallway opened up to a very spacious living room with a big, open kitchen to their left. The entire waterfront side of the lodge was covered in glass, giving them an unobscured view over the lake from almost any angle of the main floor. A large stone wall fireplace sat in the far corner of the living room and the entire furniture was covered in white blankets. Oliver couldn’t help but admire the incredible view over the lake while Felicity walked through the entire main floor, looking at every wall and surface for a picture or framed memento of her family. Sadly, she didn’t find any.

“Let’s check out the upper floor, shall we?” Oliver asked with a soft voice, trying to erase the sad look on her face. She nodded and followed him upstairs. The first two rooms looked like a guest room and an office but the last room on the hallway, the one with the big double doors, led them straight to the master bedroom. A large, antique looking four poster bed sat right in the middle of the room, facing the window front and the balcony in front of it.

When Felicity spotted a framed picture on one of the nightstands, she gasped and hurried over to it.  
“Oh my god,” she whispered and touched the dusty picture with shaky fingers. She sat down on the mattress behind her when Oliver walked over. He studied the picture in her hands for a moment, recognizing a stark resemblance between his girlfriend and the woman in the picture.  
“I haven’t seen this picture of my parents since they took me away from home,” she rasped out, a silent tear streaming down her cheek. Oliver wiped it away and wrapped an arm around her. “It was taken on their first anniversary. Mom was pregnant with me at the time.” she added, a small smile tugging at her lips. “Dad always said that’s why she’s glowing so much in the picture. They just found out a few days before.”

“You look a lot like your mother,” Oliver spoke up from beside her. Even though she apparently got her piercing blue eyes from her father, the rest of Felicity’s features were definitely her mother’s.

“That’s because I’m blonde now,” she smiled with a small laugh. It was the first laugh he’d heard from her ever since they left Starling City. “You wouldn’t recognize any resemblance with my original hair color.”

“Oh it’s not only the hair. You have your mother’s smile and glow.” he replied and nodded to the picture in her hand.

“God I hope I’m not pregnant, too!” Felicity laughed, making Oliver stop breathing for a moment. When she felt him stiffen beside her, she couldn’t help but laugh even more. “God, I’m kidding! Relax, Oliver, I’m kidding!”  
When he let out a relieved breath, she had to laugh even harder.

 

After lying on the bed in a relaxed silence for half an hour, Oliver was sure Felicity had fallen asleep. She surprised him though when she suddenly spoke up with a soft voice.  
“It’s weird, I haven’t felt that close to my parents in almost 10 years. And they’re not even here.”

Oliver leaned up on his elbows to study her. Her eyes were fixed on the window overlooking the lake, seemingly deep in thoughts.  
“It’s because this belongs to your parents,” he replied and looked around the room once more. Now that he talked about it, it felt kind of weird lying on her parents’ bed. “Like you said... it’s been years since you’ve had something from your parents. Now this house. I’m sure this can get a little overwhelming.”

“What am I going to do now?”

She sounded so overwhelmed all of a sudden, so lost and unsure what to do that he just had to pull her into a hug and wrap his arms around her.  
“Tell you what,” he murmured into her ear and stroked her hair and back. “We’ll spend the night here, see if we can find any other remnants of your parents. Tomorrow we’ll figure out a plan on what to tell Moira and how to handle everything, okay? You’re not alone in this, and you don’t have to rush things. One step at a time, alright?”

She was so thankful for his support. With everything the lawyer had told her, and now everything feeling so real, she felt completely overwhelmed. Memories of her parents rushed back, mixed with all the information that had been dumped on her in the last week. 

 

Hours later, they sat on the huge garden deck overlooking the lake and enjoyed their pizzas. Oliver had found a delivery service nearby and ordered them both something so they wouldn’t have to leave the house in search of a restaurant.

They settled in one of the guest rooms for the night and Oliver didn’t complain one bit about that. It would’ve felt too strange for him to spend the night in her parents’ bed and thankfully, Felicity seemed to feel that way, too. After each taking a shower, they both fell into bed and were asleep almost instantly, the exhaustion of the day finally kicking in.

 

Oliver was the first to wake up and for a moment, he felt a little lost. Looking around the unfamiliar room, he spotted their duffle bags in one corner and their clothes from the day before on the floor. Pressing a kiss onto the temple of Felicity, still soundly asleep next to him, he got up and put on some sweatpants. Tip-toeing out of the room not to wake her, he made his way downstairs and grabbed his car keys.

“Good morning Mr.Smith,” Oliver greeted the guard when he pulled down the window. “Is there a diner or something where I can get breakfast? We didn’t have the chance to go shopping last night.”

The guard explained him the shortest way to a diner that served a somewhat decent breakfast. Oliver thanked the man and made the short trip over there, ordered two large breakfast specials, coffee, a few omelettes and a muffin for Felicity, along with several bottles of water. He had no idea how long Felicity planned to stay at the house and since they had brought absolutely zero food with them, he wanted to stock up a bit.

The woman behind the counter eyed him a little warily after he paid for the order and carried everything to the car. It probably was a little unusual to order these large amounts of food in a place like that. But since he was gone for almost 30 minutes already, he really didn’t want to waste any more time by driving to the nearest grocery store to do some shopping.

When he arrived back, the guard instantly waved him through. Thankfully, Felicity was still dead asleep, not that he could blame her. After everything that happened in the last few days, she definitely needed to catch up on some sleep. It also gave him time to set up a breakfast table.

While sitting outside on the deck to wait for her, the table all set up, he couldn’t help but admire the great view and peaceful setting that surrounded the house. It truly was beautiful out there and with the fact that the empty lots next to the house made sure they stayed somewhat secluded, the house was made for the perfect getaway. He could definitely see why her parents bought it.

The patio door opening behind him pulled him out of his thoughts. Felicity looked a bit surprised when she spotted all the goods on the table, the smell of fresh coffee invading her nose.  
“When did all that happen?” she asked him over a mouthful of omelette. The moment she saw the full table, her stomach had growled loudly, thankful that Oliver had organized such a delicious breakfast.

“I drove to a small diner, figured you would be hungry when you woke up.”  
Felicity nodded thankfully and emptied her plate in record time.

“So what are your plans for today?”

“I haven’t thought about that yet,” she shrugged slightly. “I would like to maybe check out the area for a bit... or see if we can find anything else in here. I just don’t want to leave just yet.”

He could understand that all too well. Truth was, he didn’t want to leave yet either. This was Felicity’s first real chance of a connection with her parents, something that not even his birthday gift trip to Las Vegas two years ago could compare to. This was real.

The rest of the morning they spent their time exploring the large house and small side buildings while trying to piece together the time that their parents have lived there. After a quick call to Thea to put her up to speed on everything, Oliver decided to take her out to a restaurant in the city.

“I couldn’t sell it,” Felicity suddenly blurted out while they were waiting for their food to be delivered. “I don’t think I could ever sell it. The house is the only connection I have left of my parents and they wanted me to have it. So much they took care of everything so thoroughly. How could I sell it now that I just got it?”

Never in one day would that thought have crossed his mind.  
“Well I don’t think your parents would have want for you to sell it either.” Oliver replied. “I don’t think they would have gone through all the lengths they did to make sure you received that house if they wanted you to sell it the first chance you got. I mean look at it that way, they made sure everything’s paid for, even the maintenance crew. And that not only until you would receive the house, but even for many more years. They wanted you to have something without having to worry about how you’d pay the costs. They probably even wanted you to live here, made sure you had a place to stay.”

“So you’re saying I should move here?”

“Is that what you want?” Oliver replied, genuinely interested in her answer to that. “I mean, this house is big enough for an entire family, and I’m sure you could even build a place for Castiel, but the question is, do you want that?”

He’d never thought about moving away from Starling City and if Felicity’s confused look was any indication, neither had she. After thinking about his words for a moment, she firmly shook her head.  
“No. I mean, I could definitely see myself living here, like you said. But not with my life being in Starling City right now.”

She sighed and rubbed her temple, then took a sip of her water.  
“But maybe we could come here every now and then? Like a vacation spot, I mean.”

That definitely sounded like a plan. Felicity wouldn’t have to give up her life in Starling City, but whenever she felt like needing to visit her parents’ place, be it to reconnect with them or just to take a breather for a while, she could come here. It also meant he wouldn’t have to relocate, not that it would have mattered much for his job. But there was no way he’d let her move across the country without following her.

 

Their second night in the house suddenly didn’t feel as strange any more. Oliver had gotten used to the unknown place by now and Felicity already moved through the rooms with ease. And even though they didn’t talk much about anything, a relaxed silence fell over them and Felicity seemed to come to peace with the decisions she’d made over the day.

On their flight back home she told Oliver about her plans on telling Moira and Robert about everything. They needed to know about this, too, after all. Much to her surprise, Oliver offered to come with her, even though she could see he still was very uncomfortable with the thought.  
“I’ll see if Moira has time to talk in private. I mean, I could tell her first and you wouldn’t have to sit at a table with your father. I wanted to have a word with him about a few things first, anyway, so maybe talking only to your mother for now wouldn’t be such a bad idea after all.” Felicity offered with a smile and Oliver instantly looked relieved. He didn’t want her to do this alone, but he didn’t feel comfortable facing his father yet, either. So this sounded like the perfect idea, maybe even to reconnect with his mother again, at least a bit.

 

Moira was sitting in her office when they arrived back home late in the afternoon, and even though Felicity felt a bit tired and exhausted from the weekend, she decided to have that talk sooner rather than later. Her foster mother had been kept in the dark about this for way too long anyway, during the week Oliver and her had kept things silent.  
She peeked her head into the open office door and knocked gently. Moira looked up in surprise, her face instantly softening when she spotted Felicity in the doorway.  
“Felicity, dear! How was your weekend with Oliver? I didn’t expect you back so soon.” she told her and closed the files on her desk.

Felicity took a hesitant step into the office. “Actually, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Do you have a minute? Well, maybe more than 15 minutes.” she added with a small laugh.

Moira sat a little straighter at that, an alerted look in her eyes.  
“Is everything alright?”

When Felicity realized what she must have implied with her words, she quickly shook her head with a nervous laugh.  
“No! No, everything’s alright. The weekend was very nice, but I really need to talk to you about something. Oliver is waiting outside in his car and would like to join us, if that’s alright.” she added with a motion of her thumb towards the hallway.

“Oliver?”  
Moira sounded so genuinely surprised, her well known businesswoman - facade slipping for a moment. This was nothing but the look of a mother missing her only son, even if it showed just for a short moment.  
“Of course. I mean, all this can wait until later, it’s not that important. I have as much time as you need.” Moira replied with a warm smile, seeing Felicity’s shoulders relax.

With a quick nod, she hurried out of the room. Just two minutes later, she returned, Oliver’s hand firmly gripped in hers. He looked a little nervous to be there, and when he spotted his mother, he even froze for a moment. But when Moira walked over to him and pulled him into a strong hug, all the tenseness instantly vanished from him.  
“I’m so sorry,” Moira mumbled into his shirt collar. “I’m so very sorry about everything, Oliver.”

Oliver didn’t say anything at first. When Moira pulled back and patted his cheek once, a soft, warm smile on her lips, he nodded once and gave a small smile back. Felicity could see that this was still hard for him, that he still hurt over the fact what his father did and how his mother had supported everything. But it was a small step towards each other, too.

After some awkward moments of silence, Moira cleared her throat and took a step back, motioning for them to have a seat on the large leather couch.  
“So what do you want to talk about?”

“This.” Felicity replied and handed over a large folder, containing everything the lawyer had handed her just over a week ago.

For a long time, Moira didn’t look up or even say anything. She just skimmed through the different pages, read some stuff, then skimmed around again. After what seemed like an eternity, she looked up with a surprised look.  
“When did you get this?”

“Last week. Some lawyer showed up here and told me about my parents and everything they’d set up for me years ago. Oliver already had his lawyers look into it and after we got verification that these papers are indeed legit, we took a trip to see that house.”

Moira looked up at that.  
“That’s where you have been this weekend.”

Felicity nodded, suddenly feeling bad for not telling her foster mother earlier. It wasn’t that she’d lied to her, but it still gave her a bad feeling that she’d kept secrets from her nonetheless. Moira seemed to think about everything for a moment.  
“Well, if your lawyer says everything is legit,” Moira began, addressing Oliver directly when she spoke before turning her attention over to Felicity. “then I see no reason to believe otherwise. You have the keys to the house, documents of ownership for all 3 lots, everything is signed and paid for. It seems as if your parents took great care in making sure you wouldn’t run into any kind of trouble when they assigned the house on to you.”

Felicity felt her tense shoulders relax slightly, her tight grip on Oliver’s hand loosening. Her foster mother didn’t seem hurt or angered by the fact that she had kept such big information hidden for more than a week, and that they did both investigation and research on their own without telling anyone.

“I could offer having our family lawyers look into it again, to double check everything, so to speak,” she continued and Felicity instantly felt Oliver’s grip tighten on her hand. Moira must have sensed it, too. “But that’s not really needed since Oliver’s lawyer got everything properly covered I’m sure.” she added quickly with a smile. Oliver looked over to Felicity, who only smiled and nodded at him.

“But there’s one thing I’d like your lawyers to do,” Felicity suddenly spoke up. “I’d like to make sure that, with my past, there’s no chance the house can be taken away from me if this gets public. I don’t want to lose the only thing I’ve left from my parents. And like you said, they wouldn’t have gone the lengths they did if they wanted to see me losing the house shortly after I got it.”

Moira nodded firmly, a confident smile tugging on her lips.  
“Absolutely. I’ll forward copies of the documents to our lawyer’s office, but I’m sure you’re on the safe side there. Since everything had been handed to you after your 18th birthday, and with the costs of your time at the orphanage covered through the sale of your parents’ house, there shouldn’t be anything they could do to take this away from you.” Moira smiled, receiving a relieved smile from Felicity in return.

Raisa knocking on the office door made them all jerk around in surprise.  
“Mrs. Queen, dinner will be ready in 15 minutes.” the maid smiled, her eyes lighting up when she spotted Oliver and Felicity. “Do you want me to set up two more plates for Mister Oliver and Miss Felicity?”

Moira looked over at the two with a questioning look. Oliver was about to decline when Felicity put a hand on his thigh.  
“Is Robert at home?”

“No, he’s out of town for a conference. I just spoke to him an hour ago. He won’t make it back home before late in the evening.”

“In that case, we’d like to stay for dinner.” Felicity replied with a smile and firm nod.

 

Thea seemed equally surprised as Raisa to see Oliver sitting at the table when she entered the dining room, but quickly ran over and wrapped him into a hug.  
“Good to have you home, you idiot.” she laughed and ruffled his hair. Oliver pinched her ribs once so she would let go of him. Everything seemed so relaxed, so normal all of a sudden, Felicity couldn’t help but hope that things could turn back to normal again soon, so they’d have more of these family dinners together again.

After getting Thea up to speed on everything, they kept talking about graduation and college applications. Even Oliver answered a few questions when Moira asked him how he was doing and what his new job was that Felicity had hinted about. He seemed a little reluctant at first, but when he saw nothing but curiosity in his mother’s eyes, he relaxed a bit and told her about his work at the stock market.

“So what are you going to do with the house?” Thea asked when dessert was served, making Moira look up, too. “I mean, surely you wouldn’t want to move there, right?” she added with a laugh.

“No. At least not in the next few years.” Felicity replied and in that moment, only Oliver could see Moira’s shoulders relax after tensing up just a few seconds earlier. She clearly didn’t want another of her kids gone out of the house, even though Felicity technically wasn’t her own daughter.  
“But I thought that maybe we could spend a week there after graduation.” Felicity added with a glint in her eyes and a broad grin on her lips. “And then whenever we feel like needing to take a break. I mean, it’s big enough to house at least 10 people, so why not making it a vacation spot?”

Thea seemed enthusiastic about the idea and even Oliver had to admit that it sounded like a good plan. That way she could spend time at her parents’ place every few months a year and wouldn’t have to do it alone. It also meant that their lives would still be in Starling City.

The rest of the evening was filled with conversations about colleges and school, and Felicity could see how much Moira enjoyed having Oliver there. He still didn’t feel fully comfortable, but the fact that Moira seemed genuinely sorry for what happened seemed to help.  
They left an hour later with the promise to try and come together for another dinner soon. It was all Oliver could do, but Moira didn’t complain. 

 

2 days later, Felicity was on her way back to Oliver’s apartment from her yoga session, once again thankful his temporary apartment was within walking distance from everything. Deciding to make a quick stop at the coffee shop to get herself a muffin and Oliver some caffeine to boost his concentration since he was probably still at work upstairs, she stepped into the line and waited.

“Felicity?”

When she heard her name called out, she looked around the small coffee shop. That wasn’t a voice she recognized, so she wondered who might be calling her. When the guy a few feet behind her sent her a broad grin, she had to look twice to figure out who was standing in front of her.  
“Sam?”

Well, that was a surprise. The last time she’d seen him was shortly before he graduated, and ever since he moved away to Boston she hadn’t heard or thought of him any longer. Especially not after the mess he created at school by spreading the rumour that he dumped her, despite the fact that they had never dated in the first place.  
“The one and only.” he grinned proudly and took a step towards her. “How have you been? You look great!”

Completely dumbfounded, Felicity had to take a second to get herself together. It had been almost 2 years since she last saw him and the way things ended between them certainly didn’t give her the impression that they’d talk again any time soon, especially not on such good terms. In fact, she was quite surprised that he was standing there now, smiling and complimenting her looks, considering the way she yelled and snapped at him the last time they spoke before he left. But maybe he wanted to clear the air between them while he was back in Starling City.  
“Well, thank you. You look good, too. Boston College is treating you good, obviously.” she added with a polite smile. When Sam was about to say something, the barista asked Felicity for her order. Sam was quick to throw his one in, too, and even paid for both drinks, much to Felicity’s displeasure.

When they grabbed their drinks and stepped aside, Sam motioned for one of the free tables at the side of the shop.  
“Are you in a hurry, or do you have a minute? It’s been so long.”

Felicity considered his words for a moment. She wasn’t exactly in a hurry, and with Oliver being busy for another few hours anyway, she agreed to have a seat with him to see what he wanted. If things got too crazy, there was still the chance for her to just get up and leave.

When she nodded, Sam smiled and took a seat at the booth, watching her set down her gym bag under the table before she took a seat as well.  
“So how are you doing? You look... different.”

Huh? Where was that coming from now? Looking down herself, she saw nothing out of the ordinary. Sure, her sweatpants and yoga-shirt weren’t actually considered downtown-chic, but there were definitely less stellar looks to sport when stepping out of a 2-hour yoga session. When she checked her hair to make sure her ponytail wasn’t looking weird, Sam had to chuckle slightly.  
“I didn’t mean it like that. You look fine,” he grinned. “It’s just your hair color... it’s different. Blonde suits you well.”

Oh, right. That had happened after the whole Clarissa-Cheerleading - incident, and at that time, Sam had been gone for a few weeks already.  
“Yeah, I thought it was time for a little change.” she smiled and patted her hair again, suddenly feeling nervous under Sam’s persistent stare.

“So how have you been? Aside from changing your hair, I mean?”  
“Pretty good, I guess,” she shrugged and took a sip of the coffee to busy herself, making sure to get Oliver a new one before leaving. This whole conversation seemed a bit off to her. She didn’t exactly call Sam a friend or even a distant buddy, so sitting at a coffee shop, casually talking about life confused her a little. Besides, there wasn’t really a point in sharing her personal life with someone who’d been gone for almost 2 years and probably was only back to visit his family or something. Which seemed like a good thing to talk about - and steer the conversation away from herself.  
“So what brings you back to Starling City? I don’t think it’s the amazing coffee.” she joked and raised her coffee cup to emphasize her point.

Sam laughed slightly but shook his head.  
“My grandma is celebrating her 70th birthday next week and she demanded all children and grandchildren present.” he replied with a smile tugging at his lips.

Well, that clearly made sense and only confirmed her suspicions that he wasn’t here because he moved back but only because of a family matter. Not wanting to get too deep with the conversation, she opted for a casual question.  
“So how is life in Boston?”

“Rainy.” he laughed slightly. “It’s crazy, but the people are different. And the food is different. Ever had Boston Baked Beans?”

Felicity shook her head.

“Don’t bother.” he laughed again. Overall he seemed a lot more relaxed and at ease with himself that she remembered him from two years ago. Back then he’d been polite, sure, but he never laughed and talked so openly, and he certainly didn’t seem so laid back. What a difference two years and a move across the country could make, making her wonder if she’d changed that much as well, given that she’d traveled all across the country as well before her new life in Starling City began.  
“So I was thinking,” he suddenly spoke up and pulled her out of her thoughts. “Since I still have a few days off and it has been so long since we’ve last seen each other... would you like to have dinner with me? We could talk a bit more and catch up. I’m dying to know all the gossip at Starling High.” he joked, making Felicity laugh slightly, too. There was always so much gossip going on that it was hard to catch it all - or to avoid catching any of it, like Felicity tried to. Gossip was more Thea’s forte, so to speak.

But having dinner with him? Even thinking about it gave her an uneasy feeling. Running into each other and having coffee with him was one thing, but practically going on a dinner date? Yeah, no.  
“Thanks for the offer, Sam.” she replied with a shy smile. “But I really can’t. I’m seeing someone for quite a while now and going to dinner with someone else feels just wrong, somehow.” she shrugged slightly, feeling nervous to admit the truth to him. But coming up with a plausible lie wouldn’t have changed the facts - she didn’t want to have dinner with some man from her past. Period. Especially not when she could spend the time with Oliver instead.

If he was sad about hearing that, he hid it well. Only a very small frown appeared on his face before he smiled again and nodded slightly.  
“I understand. But then let’s at least have another coffee together, whenever you have time this week. I don’t really have anyone left that I know here, except for my family of course. It’s so good to talk to someone I know from school, for a change.”

The way he looked almost desperate, made Felicity cringe inwardly. She couldn’t lie to him by telling she was having a super stuffed schedule this week, could she? Besides, having coffee wasn’t too big of a deal, right? They were doing it at that moment, after all.

Taking a small breath, she nodded.  
“Alright. I have another yoga session in two days. Want to meet here then afterwards?”

At her words, a beaming smile broke out on his face.  
“Absolutely. Here,” he grabbed a napkin and scribbled down his phone number, “just let me know the time and I’ll be here.”

She looked down at the slightly crumpled napkin for a moment. That he thought she wasn’t having his number any more was kind of funny to her. Did he think she had deleted it in an act of rebellion and anger after she yelled at him the last time they spoke? She certainly wouldn’t tell him she actually did.

Stuffing the napkin into her gym bag, she got up from the booth.  
“I should get going.” she smiled nervously and shouldered her bag. Sam got out of the booth as well. When he took a step forward to hug her though, she raised her free hand between them. “I haven’t showered yet.” she replied and took a small step back. Hugging definitely was off the table and thankfully she didn’t even have to come up with a lie for that.

“Alright,” Sam replied and stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jeans. For a moment, he looked like the Sam she’d known from high school 2 years ago, but when his confident smile returned back on his face, the look quickly vanished again. “See you in two days then.”

With a polite nod and a nervous smile, Felicity turned on her heel and walked away from the booth to step into the line again to get Oliver a coffee. She really needed a shower to get the sweat off her body and maybe even clear her thoughts about what just happened.  
She agreed to have coffee with Sam again. 

 

Oliver wasn’t home when she arrived in the apartment, but a text from him let her know he only had a quick errand to make and would hopefully be back home so they could have dinner together at the mansion with Moira and Thea. Felicity left the coffee on the table and went to take a shower. He still wasn’t back when she came out though, and the text she’d sent him stayed unanswered for a while, too.

She really didn’t want to miss dinner with Thea and Moira, so she texted him again to let him know she’d already headed over to the mansion and would be glad if he could make it there, too.  
Just when she pulled up in front of the mansion, her phone beeped with an incoming text from Oliver, telling her he wouldn’t be able to make it because of a last-minute meeting with some stock brokers that would take up until late in the night. Felicity completely understood; with the stock market being his new full time job now, he had to focus on that and soak up as much information as he could get. Besides, they still had plenty of other times to spend together, and she could take evening to actually study for her upcoming exams, something she’d neglected way too much in the last few days, anyway. Thea would also be thrilled to have her best friend over for the night as well, so she texted Oliver back and told him she was sad about that, but that she’d take her time to get things done at the mansion then. There really was no point spending the evening at the apartment, waiting for Oliver, if she could spend the evening with her best friend instead.

 

But even during studying she couldn’t get one thought out of her head... she’d agreed to have coffee with Sam again. And the more she thought about it, the more she asked herself why she’d agreed to that in the first place. Was it because he’d driven her into a corner and she couldn’t get out except by agreeing to have coffee with him again? Well, she’d never been too shy to speak her mind, so saying she’d been cornered wasn’t really the truth. So what was it? Actual interest in hearing from him and swapping life stories? Or was it just the heat of the moment, in which Sam had managed to catch her off guard? Either way, she knew that running into him and having one coffee had been nice, but it certainly didn’t need a repeat performance.

With that, she pulled out her phone and went looking through her gym bag for the napkin with Sam’s number on it. She had thought about cancelling via text; that certainly would’ve made things easier for her. But she was too old to chicken out of situations like that, especially situations she had managed to maneuver herself into in the first place.

The phone kept ringing and ringing, but Sam didn’t pick up. It was just barely 9pm, so him being asleep already should be out of the picture. When her second call also went to the mailbox, Felicity decided to leave him a message there, politely thanking him for asking her out again, but telling him she couldn’t make it and that it didn’t feel right for her to have coffee with another man when she was in a relationship. She felt a lot better after that had been done and the weight lifted off her shoulder.

 

 

The next afternoon, Oliver surprised her by picking her up from school and taking her out for lunch. After having spent more than a day apart, with him working overtime and her studying for school, he wanted to make sure they’d at least got some time together, just the two of them.

They’d gone out for sushi when the texts started. And then the calls. Apparently Sam was pissed that Felicity had cancelled like that.  
She felt bad about that, having called him earlier and broken the news to his voicemail when she very well could and should have declined in the first place - but Sam was clearly overreacting. Apparently, according to a call from Raisa, he’d even showed up at the mansion and asked where she was.

“Be right back.” Felicity smiled at Oliver and slid out of her seat, heading for the ladies’ room, her jaw tight with anger. The easiest solution probably would be to turn off her phone, but he’d already pissed her off too much to ignore it. Thankfully, the ladies’ room was empty. Hoping she could make this a quick one, she dialed Sam’s number. He answered right after the second ring. Felicity didn’t give him any time to say anything, though.  
“What do you want, Sam?” she snapped, her eyes glued to the door, hoping no one would come in just now. She really didn’t need an audience for that.

“Why didn’t you come today?” he replied, his tone slightly irritated. She could hear cars in the background and could only imagine that he was somewhere in the city, probably at the coffee place, waiting for her.

“I told you. I’m sorry, but I changed my mind. End of story. Now stop calling, please.” Felicity replied with a firm voice and was ready to end the call when Sam’s reply made her stop.

“I don’t appreciate getting ditched at the last minute. And you didn’t seem displeased to have seen me two days ago, so I wanted to know what made you change your mind.” he replied so matter of factly, Felicity momentarily had no idea what to reply to that.

“You certainly got the wrong impression of what that was, Sam. It wasn’t a date. It wasn’t a door opening to you and me getting together or something like that. And the more I thought about it, the more a second coffee date seemed like a bad idea, especially considering I have a boyfriend that I love. So I cancelled. End of story. And I have more important things to do right now, so have a nice day, Sam.” she added with an overly faked politeness that Sam must have heard and ended the call, not wanting to continue this conversation any further. She should have never agreed to that coffee date in the first place. She realized that last night, and she certainly realized that just now, standing in the ladies’ room of a chinese restaurant, with Oliver sitting out there waiting for her, completely clueless to what had just happened. Time to get back to the one normal person in her life and enjoy lunch with him.

 

When she returned from the ladies’ room a few moments later, Oliver sent her a worried look.  
“Is everything alright?”

“Yeah,” she nodded and took her seat again, placing the phone on the table right next to her. He hadn’t seen her taking it with her to the ladies’ room, but since she wasn’t going to hide anything from him, there wasn’t any need to stuff it discreetly into her bag again, either.  
“I just ran into an old... friend from school the other day after yoga when I went to grab coffee for us. We talked for a bit, he asked if we could have coffee again while he’s here and I agreed. But later that night I figured it wasn’t really a good idea and called to cancel.”

“Who is that ‘friend’?” was the only thing Oliver replied to that, his voice gone eerily flat compared to the always joyful tone he’d kept when talking to her.

“Sam.”

That made his eyebrows shoot up in surprise.  
“ **That** Sam?”

“You remember Sam?”

“Of course I remember Sam!” Oliver growled. He wouldn’t tell her how much he despised that idiot prancing around Felicity back then, or how he wanted to flatten the tires of his stupid looking sports car every time he’d come over to study with her. Last thing he’d heard was that idiot moving away, which immensely relaxed Oliver again. So Sam running into Felicity at the coffee shop here in Starling City didn’t sit right with him. Not one bit.  
“So what was this about?” he asked, nodding to her phone lying on the table between them.

With a sigh, Felicity recalled the incident in the ladies’ room just minutes ago.  
“He kept texting and calling, asking for an explanation why I’d ditched him last minute. I told him that he apparently misunderstood my agreement for a date, and that I wasn’t really interested to have another coffee with him anyway. I’m hoping I made myself clear enough this time.”

Much to her dismay though, Sam didn’t seem as satisfied with her answer as she’d thought. Just when they’d gotten back to eating, her phone started ringing again. Oliver and her both sent the phone an irritated glance before she ignored the call and put the phone back on the table without another glance.

When Sam called a second time though, Oliver snatched the phone out of her hand before she had the chance to ignore that call as well.  
“Listen, asshole. Stop harassing my girlfriend or you and me are going to have a heart-to-heart, you got me?” Oliver growled into the speaker, his voice as threatening as she’d rarely heard it from him.

She couldn’t hear Sam’s reply but thanking the stars that he wasn’t there in person, she listened a little more closely, trying to make out what Sam was replying.  
“She doesn’t need to tell you, I’m telling you now! And this conversation ends now. Call again and I’ll make you regret it!” Oliver snapped into the phone before ending the call and shutting the phone off completely.

“If that douche keeps bothering you, I’ll seriously kick his ass before we get you a new number.” Oliver growled and the more she studied him, the more she felt sorry for causing the whole mess.

“I’m really sorry, Oliver. I didn’t think about it when I agreed to another coffee with him. Had I known he turns into such a stalkerish idiot I never would’ve talked to him in the first place.” she sighed and dropped her head in defeat.

Oliver reached over and took her hand in his.  
“Hey, it’s okay, sweetheart. I just hate if some idiot is bothering you. And given that you had to endure that encounter with Laurel last week I’d say it’s only fair I have to do the same now with Sam.” he smiled encouragingly, making Felicity chuckle as well.

 

That afternoon, just a few blocks away from the restaurant Oliver and Felicity were currently sitting in, Thea and Tommy occupied a booth at a small coffee shop. It had been quite a while since their official date and with his full work schedule, they’d rarely found the time to spend a few hours together lately. So Thea surprised him when she arrived at Merlyn Global after school to pick him up for coffee. For a moment, Tommy froze in shock when he spotted Thea in front of his office, but once she saw the relaxed faces smiling at her, everyone happy to see Thea again, he realized that no one was suspecting anything. They were just happy to see the woman again that spent most of her childhood at either the Merlyn or Queen building.

“We should tell Oliver soon.” Thea spoke, her hand slowly stirring the coffee that sat in front of her. It was a wish that had gotten more prominent ever since she saw Oliver back at the mansion again. Apparently he was trying to make amends with his mother and clear the air between them, so it was time for her to do the same. She’d never kept any secrets from her brother and she certainly never lied to him. And since Tommy had told her he was serious about them and wanted to give it an honest try between them, there was no point in hiding it any longer. At least not from her brother and her best friend, even though Felicity was already in on the whole thing. But that was just another reason for her to tell Oliver; she really didn’t want to force Felicity to keep this a secret from her boyfriend for any longer.

She expected him to shake his head, or maybe come up with a ‘reasonable’ explanation as to why it would be smart to wait a little longer, but much to her surprise, Tommy did none of that. He only sighed and rubbed his forehead once.  
“My life is dead-ass over.” he mumbled, making Thea laugh out loud.

Deciding to drop the bomb on him the following weekend, Thea made sure to text Felicity to invite her and Oliver over for some afternoon pool fun. Felicity replied an hour later, letting her know she loved the idea and that Oliver and her definitely would be there.

 

3 days later, things went downhill way sooner than anticipated. Felicity and Thea had made a quick trip downtown to get a few new floating pets, when Oliver arrived at the mansion and shit immediately hit the fan.

Oliver stomped into the foyer and closed the distance to Tommy in a few steps and forcefully shoved his best friend backwards with an angry glare before the other man even had the chance to realize what was going on.  
“What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Tommy needed to balance himself with a step back before he gave Oliver a confused look.  
“Hey! What is wrong with YOU? Care to tell why you’re so mad at me instead of shoving me through the room?” Tommy shot back.

“You’re sleeping with my little sister, Tommy! I do think I have every reason to be mad at you!” Oliver snapped at his best friend.

To say Tommy was surprised at Oliver’s blunt statement would be a major understatement. Oliver caught him completely off guard by telling him he knew, but then again, he should have guessed Oliver would find out sooner rather than later. But still, Tommy was an adult and getting a permission from Oliver to date his little sister surely wasn’t what he’d tolerate.  
“Yeah but no worries, we didn’t start dating before you started fucking her best friend, so I’d say we’re pretty even.” Tommy shot back, completely unimpressed of Oliver’s overly protective big brother behavior.

That earned Tommy a punch right in the face.

He didn’t expect it and because of that, Oliver was able to park his fist right on Tommy’s cheekbone and his nose. Oliver was ready to punch again when Tommy moved out of the way and landed a fist in Oliver’s face himself. They hadn’t fought like that since they were teenagers and got into an argument over a girl early in high school. How ironic that this was once again about a woman.

Just when the situation was about to escalate even further, Thea and Felicity entered the foyer, their hands full with shopping bags. As soon as they saw the men fighting, both women dropped the bags and sped over to separate them.

“Holy hell, what is wrong with you guys? Did you lose the ability to handle things with words, like normal people do?” Felicity snapped at both of them when she pulled Oliver to the side and started inspecting his cuts and bruises on the chin and lip. Thea had pulled Tommy to the other side of the room and already wiped his bloody nose with a tissue.

“Care to explain what is this about?” Thea demanded with a stern voice, looking straight at Tommy.

“Go on, just ask your brother.” Tommy just replied with an angry voice when he took the tissue from Thea and wiped away the blood streaming from his nose and split lip. Thea turned around to face Oliver with a raised eyebrow and a very questioning look on her face, obviously expecting her brother to answer.  
When Oliver didn’t reply but just glared at Tommy, Thea took a step closer and crossed her arms over her chest.

“He’s sleeping with you.” Oliver just growled, never looking away from Tommy while he spoke.

“And you’re sleeping with my best friend.” Thea just bluntly replied, not caring for Raisa entering the room with a worried look on her face after hearing the shouting match in the foyer.

“Speedy, you’re 17! Tommy is 24! You do know this is illegal?!”

“Seriously, Oliver? Cut me some slack here, okay? It’s my birthday in 2 weeks and Tommy and I haven’t even slept with each other, not that this is any of your business!” she yelled at him, getting angrier by the minute at Oliver’s over-fatherly behavior. She didn’t even bother denying anything any longer, since Oliver obviously had found out somehow already.

Her words made Oliver’s head snap around in surprise. He quickly checked out Tommy on the other side of the room, shielded off by his sister, wiping his bloody nose. And even though most of his face was hidden behind the tissue, he could see in his best friends’ face that what Thea said was the truth.  
“You haven’t - “

“No, we have not.” Thea instantly cut him off. “And now’s certainly not the time or place to discuss my sexual activity. And even if it was, discussing this with my big brother, who also happens to date my best friend, is just gross.”

“It’s just –“ Oliver began and gestured in Tommy’s direction, but Thea was having none of that.

“Oh please don’t say ‘it’s wrong’! You’ve been trying to get into Felicity’s pants ever since she arrived here 3 years ago!” she cut him off once again.

“I did not!” Oliver snapped back.

“Oh you did.” Thea countered with a cocked eyebrow.

“Yeah, you totally did.” Tommy smirked from the other side of the room.

Oliver just watched his little sister and his best friend closely before he looked at Felicity and received a slight nod and a half amused shrug from her as well. For a long moment he didn’t say anything but only kept his eyes on his best friend and his little sister.

After what seemed like an eternity, he finally spoke up.  
“Well I certainly can’t forbid any of you to date. But I swear to god, Merlyn… if you hurt her, even a tiny bit, if she’s crying because of you, or if I see you mess this up, I’ll break your fuckin’ neck!” Oliver growled and pointed a finger closely in Tommy’s direction.

“I won’t.” Tommy firmly replied and Oliver just grabbed Felicity’s hand, turned on his heel and made his way upstairs to her room.

“And I can take care of my own just fine, thank you very much.” Thea called after her brother just before Felicity and Oliver rounded the corner and were off to the upper floor.

 

“How did you find out?” Felicity asked him with a soft voice when she took care of his cuts with the first aid kit.

“My buddy saw them together at a coffee shop, kissing and cuddling like some lovesick teenagers. Joked around that he was surprised I was letting my best buddy fuck my little sister. I just wanted to punch him in the face. But then I remembered that Tommy had been acting off for quite a while now and that Thea and he had indeed grown closer ever since we returned home from our trip.” Oliver sighed and winced slightly when she put on the antiseptic on his cuts.  
When he pulled back a bit and looked her straight in the eyes, she knew what he was about to ask.  
“Did you know?”

Felicity put the antiseptic away and nodded, her eyes downcast for a moment.  
“I promised Thea not to tell anyone. And to be honest, I had no idea they were officially dating up until a few days ago. I just knew how much Thea likes him and that Tommy apparently feels the same way about her. I really didn’t want to keep this secret from you. Please don’t be mad at me.” she pleaded, almost afraid he would be mad or even leave the room.

Much to her surprise, he pulled her into a hug and gently kissed her head.  
“I love you, Felicity. And even though it’ll take some time to get used to seeing Thea with Tommy, I could never be mad at you for being a friend to Thea.”

Relief washed over her at his words. Up until that moment she had feared that Oliver would get mad for her keeping this a secret from him. They didn’t have any secrets from each other and the fact that this wasn’t only about his little sister but about his best friend as well weighed heavily on her.  
“Tommy and Thea dating... That certainly will take some time for me to get used to.” he mumbled into her hair, making her laugh softly.

“What do you think, should we go back downstairs and join them?” Felicity offered, seeing a small smile form on Oliver’s lips.

“As long as we don’t run into them making out in the pool.” he grumbled, making her laugh even harder. “That would be a little too much for me to tolerate right now.”

“Alright, I’ll walk ahead of you to make sure the premises are clear for you to enter.” she laughed, pulled him up and out the door back to the pool area.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As usual, please let me know what you think! :)
> 
> Also, don't forget to vote for our **Ship of the Year** on Tumblr! We're currently in the lead, but it's still a long way to go until the 24th! :)


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy! I can't believe I'm actually saying this, but this is the final Chapter for **Find My Way Back**!
> 
> I want to thank each and every single person who read, subscribed or even left kudos for this story! You really made this story so much fun for me! THANK YOU!
> 
> This is the first fic I have finished and actually only the second I've ever started to write. I've made mistakes, probably a lot of typos, way too many commas, and maybe even messed up some things here and there in the chapters. But in the end, I'm happy this fic turned out the way it did, with all its imperfections and little mistakes.  
> I hope you guys enjoyed this 11-month long ride with me, some chapters a little more, others maybe a little less. ♥

Oliver and Tommy didn’t really interact with each other once Felicity and Oliver came back out to the pool, but Felicity could see that a huge weight had been lifted off her best friends’ shoulders. Thea sat in the lounger right next to Tommy, who kept his arm leisurely on her thighs. Felicity expected him to drop it the moment she heard Oliver’s almost caveman-like growl behind her, but much to her surprise, Tommy didn’t flinch. If anything, he just placed his hand more possessively over Thea’s thigh. Felicity could only roll her eyes at the scene. These two were such cavemen that it was almost too much to stand.

Since both Oliver and Tommy were covered in cuts and bruises on their faces, Felicity didn’t bother asking them if they wanted to join in. Thea seemed enthusiastic to get into the water though. After getting the floating toys inflated, both girls hopped into the pool, completely oblivious to their men on the loungers who still didn’t say a word to each other and kept as much distance between them as possible, each one nursing a beer to soothe their battle wounds.

Felicity had no idea if it was some kind of cool down because of their fight or if they were actually still mad at each other. Either way, that wasn’t a suitable situation between the four of them. When an idea struck her, she pulled Thea off to the side to let her in on her plans without the guys able to overhear them.  
“Okay, now that the secret is finally out I’m sure you’ll agree with me that having our two grumpy cats sitting there staring at each other definitely isn’t a suitable situation, right?”  
Thea nodded.  
“Right. Do you remember your birthday party from two years ago, where we played the chicken fight with them in the pool? Tommy said the loser would pay for dinner. I think it’s time we finally demand what has long ago been promised to us.” she grinned and waggled her eyebrows.

Thea loved the idea. And how could she not? If a dinner together, just the four of them, could mean that Oliver and Tommy had to sit at a table together, having to behave themselves, all the while she got the chance to go out on a very official, public, open date with Tommy, she sure wouldn’t pass on that opportunity.

“We need to make plans.” she firmly announced, peeked over to the men still engaged in their angry staring contest before she hopped out of the pool.

“Felicity and I will get some drinks. You guys need anything?” she spoke to the men and waited for Felicity to follow her. Tommy shook his head while Oliver raised his still full beer bottle.

 

Once the girls were inside, Thea squealed like a little girl.  
“Oh my god, I’m so excited. Our first official date, and even out with you guys!”

Felicity watched the men out at the pool area through the glass doors for another moment before she joined Thea in the kitchen. It kind of saddened her that Oliver was so stubborn and hard-headed sometimes, especially since this was about his little sister and his best friend. Who could he better trust with his little sister than the person he’s been best friends with since elementary school? She really needed to talk to him about that if the situation didn’t improve soon between the men.

 

While the girls made plans on which restaurant to choose and when to go, Oliver and Tommy still didn’t speak a word outside at the pool. At some point Oliver had opened his beer bottle while Tommy still used his to cool his bruised cheek. It took him a bit by surprise when Oliver actually began to talk to him.  
“For the record, I’m not sorry I punched you.” Oliver spoke over a swig of his beer.

“Me neither. But your jaw is harder than steel. My hand still fucking hurts.” Tommy replied, a small smile tugging on his lips while he inspected his bruised knuckles.

“So... you and Thea, huh?” he asked and Tommy studied his best friend for a moment, trying to read any disapproval on his best friends’ face. Much to his surprise, he didn’t see any.

With a sigh, he put aside the beer bottle and sat upright on the lounger, directly facing Oliver.  
“Look, here’s the truth. I’ve had feelings for her for quite a while now. I tried to deny them. I tried to ignore them. But the more time I spent with her, the tougher it became to fight. I didn’t tell you sooner because what’s happening is about her and me, not about us being friends or her being your sister. I’m not saying that makes it okay. I’m saying that’s how it went down, and I’m not sorry for how I feel.”

“Do you love her?”

He contemplated that question for a moment before nodding slightly. “I think I do, yeah.”

He wasn’t sure what that answer would mean to his friend, but it was the most honest one he could give. It was still too early for him to give a 100% definite answer about that, but the fact that he enjoyed spending time with Thea and having her around way more than he ever did with a woman before gave him a pretty good idea of what love might feel like. And lying to his best friend about that definitely wasn’t an option.

Oliver didn’t say anything after that. He kept watching his best friend for another long moment, nodded and leaned back into the lounger to enjoy the sun. Tommy let out a breath of relief. It wasn’t that he was afraid Oliver might hit him again, but even seeing or hearing any slight disapproval from his best friend would have deeply hurt him.

 

When the girls came back outside, silence greeted them. But this time the air didn’t seem so thick between the men any longer, which both girls immediately noticed. Tommy and Oliver both had a more relaxed posture on their loungers and didn’t keep the staring contest on any longer. Oliver didn’t even let out a growl when Thea leaned in and kissed Tommy on the lips lightly, something she had badly wanted to do in Oliver’s presence, just to show him how serious she was about that relationship. Not hearing the expected, possessive growl from Oliver surprised both girls for a moment, though.

Once situated back on the floating toys on the pool, Felicity cleared her throat, making both men look up at her. Thea sat on another floaty beside her, an amused grin on her face. The girls definitely were up to something and for a second, Tommy worried what would follow next on that rather eventful day.

“I believe we still you guys still owe us a Dinner Date.” Felicity announced from her floating swan with a smile on her lips. It took Oliver a moment to realize what she was talking about and a quick look over to Tommy showed him that his friend was just as clueless.  
But then it struck him.  
The pool chicken fight on Thea’s 16th birthday! They’d bet that the loser team would have to take the other out for dinner.

“Yeah, and I know who has to pay for it.” Oliver suddenly replied in Tommy’s direction, a smirk on his face.

As soon as Tommy knew what they were talking about, he groaned and leaned back into his lounger.  
“I’m pretty sure that bet came with an expiration date.”

“Yeah, right, smartass.” Thea replied and splashed some water in her boyfriend’s direction. “If you guys hadn’t run off to travel the seven seas for twelve goddamn months, we would have had plenty of time to have that dinner together.”

Okay, she had a point, Tommy couldn’t argue with that. Shortly after that birthday, things started to get a little hectic for the men, followed by their year overseas. And ever since they returned and both picked up higher positions in their parents’ companies, time had been rather sparse for them to go out.  
“Alright,” he sighed. “But nowhere in hell I’m going to go out looking like that.” He gestured towards his beaten up face. His cheekbone had already started swelling and his lip, even though it had finally stopped bleeding, looked like hell.

But Oliver wasn’t any better.  
“Second that.” he replied from the other side of the pool.

 

They made plans for dinner two weeks later, but Thea and Felicity decided to keep a secret where they wanted to take the men. That would be revealed once they were on their way.

The more the girls talked, the more Oliver and Tommy seemed to relax with each other again. They still didn’t actively engage in conversations like they did before, but at least answered questions and talked to each other when asked about something.  
Soon the topic changed to Felicity’s house and when they’d make their next trip there. Felicity still had no idea when but she badly wanted to go back there again soon.

“We should spend our graduation there!” Thea announced, looking thoroughly convinced of her sudden idea. Felicity sent her a surprised look but then thought about it for a moment. A quick look over to Oliver showed her that he also seemed to like the idea.

“We could take the jet.” Tommy offered, substantiating Thea’s idea.

“Alright,” Felicity laughed. “I’ll think about that. As long as you guys can take a few days off and come with us, of course.”

It was the first time Oliver and Tommy actually looked at each other in a serious conversation that wasn’t done with their fists, even though no word was spoken between them. For a moment, Felicity feared Oliver might give some snappy or disapproving comment about Tommy and Thea going on a vacation with them, but much to her surprise, his features softened after a moment and he acknowledged Tommy with a short nod. She could only imagine that this was the most she’d get from Oliver regarding his sister’s and his best friend’s relationship right now.

 

The girls had just gotten out of the pool and settled on their loungers next to their men when Raisa opened the patio doors and walked out to them. Felicity was sure the maid was ready to serve them the snacks she was preparing, but then she surprised her when she called out her name.

“Miss Felicity? Sam Covington is at the front door to see you.” Felicity’s head snapped around in surprise as soon as she heard that name. What the heck was he doing here? Raisa sent her an almost apologetic look, but quickly descended back inside.

It took her a moment to realize that Oliver was already on his feet, crossing the distance to the mansion in quick strides like the devil himself had taken possession over him, his whole posture stiff and rigid. Tommy sent the girls a confused look when he saw his best friend almost storming inside. Panicked, Felicity jumped off her lounger, not even bothering to put on any clothes over her bikini and ran after Oliver, hoping to catch him before something worse than the fight between him and Tommy would happen.  
Raisa had already fled into back into the kitchen but thankfully made sure that Sam stayed at the front door and didn’t come inside.

“Hey!” Oliver snapped once he’d reached the front door where a suddenly very nervous looking Sam stood waiting. Felicity arrived just in time to grab Oliver’s arm and pull him back slightly, stopping him from doing anything stupid.

“What do you want, Sam?” she asked from beside him before Oliver had the chance to form out a threat towards the man.

“I want to talk to you.”

“Yeah but she doesn’t want to talk to you. I think she’s made that pretty clear several times already.” Oliver snapped back just when Thea and Tommy arrived at the scene.

As soon as he saw his best friend’s stance and the way he kept a protective arm around Felicity, his body immediately went into fight-mode as well.  
“What’s going on here?” he demanded over Oliver’s shoulder and as soon as Sam spotted the other man looking equally angry, he gulped slightly. By now, the front door of the Queen mansion had filled out considerably with two sets of very broad, very naked shoulders and Felicity almost fully squeezed between them. Thea didn’t even have the chance to peek a look out towards Sam, but the audio still entertained her just fine.

Felicity could only imagine the view they must have pictured at that moment. She, looking angry and annoyed, while Oliver and Tommy, both with freshly beaten up faces, looked more menacing than ever before. Sam gulped once, then took a tentative step back from the door but raised his chin and even widened his stance. He seemed intimidated for short moment but covered that quickly, much to Felicity’s dismay.  
“I only wanted to talk to you, that’s all.”

He was brave. Or stupid. Oliver had to give him that. He actually expected the man to run for his life as soon as Tommy joined the scene, but much to his surprise, the man was still there talking to Felicity while two pairs of angry eyes glared at him.  
“Yeah, you did. She doesn’t want to talk to you though. Now get lost before we help you.”

Sam narrowed his eyes at that. “Are you threatening me?”

Oliver looked over his shoulder at Tommy for a second, his eyebrows raised in amusement.  
“Do I look like I make threats?”

“No way man, you’ve got the face of an angel.” Tommy replied, looking dead serious even though his eyes were glinting with amusement. Ironically, he looked like a beaten up cage fighter who’d just barely won his last fight.

Tommy looked back towards Sam, crossed his arms and took a step closer to the man, completely caging Felicity in between them.  
“You see, no threats made. Just a friendly advice, is all.”

Sam still seemed to contemplate what to do next and Felicity could see Oliver’s patience running thin. She needed to do something or the situation would escalate to more than some angry banter between men, especially since Sam was still very openly ogling her half dressed body.  
“Sam, just go. I have no interest to talk to you. It was nice seeing you at the coffee shop, but let’s keep it that way. Enjoy Boston.” she replied, nodded politely toward him and pulled Oliver and Tommy inside before closing the door into Sam’s face.

That luckily seemed to do the trick. After hearing a car door being closed and an engine started shortly after, Oliver relaxed his tense shoulders and let out a small breath.  
“I hope that’s the last we’ve heard or seen from this idiot.”

“After the scene you’ve just presented him? I don’t have any doubts.” Thea laughed out loud. Tommy and Oliver both looked at each other, realizing for the first time they both probably looked like some underground fighters looking for their next target. But if that helped to get the message through to him, then so be it.

“I want to know the entire story to this.” Tommy told them on their way back to the pool. Oliver grumbled, not really wanting to hear it all over again, but Felicity was happy to share.

 

\-----------------------------

 

Thea decided to lay low with her parents about the relationship for a little longer, at least until her birthday. As things went downhill with her father and Oliver after the relationship had been made public, she really didn’t want to add more salt to the wound. Especially not since her parents still had a say in this, at least to some extend. Tommy didn’t have a problem with that, he still seemed so relieved that Oliver had taken the news much lighter than he expected to, even though his cheek and nose still hurt after a few days had passed.

Thea seemed to be more enthusiastic and full of energy than ever before. Even Oliver noticed that during their weekly dinners at the Queen mansion. He still wasn’t fully relaxed when he came back home, but since Moira seemed to make sure her husband wasn’t present when they had dinner together, he got more and more comfortable with it. Moira was just happy to have her son back at home, even if only for a few hours once a week. They still weren’t back on normal terms yet, but at least Moira seemed to be very interested in how his life was going right now. Oliver was still reluctant to tell her too much about his work in fear of his mother telling Robert about it and his father then trying to throw stones in his path, but the things he did share she seemed very interested to hear about. Felicity was happy that Oliver tried, and after a while she could see that even he began to enjoy the conversations with his mother again.

Robert, though, was a whole different story. Oliver still flat-out refused to talk to his father or even share the roof with him as long as he wouldn’t be willing to apologize to him. Even Felicity rarely talked to her foster father any longer, but he at least acknowledged her some times and asked her about school and college applications. He never asked about Oliver though. Felicity could only guess he’d get everything he needed to know from Moira - if he wanted to know, but the Queen head had taken an unusual position towards her children lately. Normally, Moira always took on her husband’s side when it came to their children, especially regarding their future. But after the fallout between her son and her husband, and the respective fight between her and her foster daughter because of it, it seemed that she’d realized something. Or at least that was Felicity’s opinion. Moira had always been supportive and protective of her children, but making decisions for their future had always been kind of normal for her. Now, though, it seemed like she’d realized how much damage that had caused to her children rather than making them happy.

Sadly, Robert didn’t seem to have arrived at that point yet. Felicity never pushed Oliver about it, though, knowing that her boyfriend was in the absolute right place with his thoughts. She knew he’d needed a push to get back in touch with his mother, but after what his father had done to him, or tried to do to him, there was no way she was going to convince him to get back in touch with his father as well.

 

The following week it was Felicity who was very excited during dinner. Oliver had noticed her giddiness all day but she wouldn’t tell him what it was about. When they sat at the dinner table with Thea and Moira though, she couldn’t hold back the excitement any longer.  
“So I got a few reply letters from the colleges I applied to.” she spoke up and all heads suddenly snapped up to her.

“And?” Oliver replied, suddenly just as excited to hear more about this than anyone else at the table.

“And I got accepted at Central State!” she squealed and giggled excitedly. Thea was the first that practically jumped over the table and hugged her best friend. Even Moira got up and hugged her.  
“I’m so proud of you.” Oliver mumbled onto her lips and gave her a sweet kiss.

“So what will you be studying?” Moira asked over dessert when everyone had settled back on their seats.

“I haven’t fully decided yet but I hope to get into Animal Science, focusing on Equine Management.”

Moira nodded once, looking impressed.  
“No matter what you decide, I’m sure you’ll do wonderfully.” she smiled and turned her attention towards Thea.  
“Have you heard anything back yet?”

Thea nodded, put down her spoon and shrugged slightly.  
“Yeah, got accepted at IADT last week.”

“What? That is incredible, Thea!” Felicity called over the table, completely shocked by her friend’s nonchalant answer. Getting accepted at IADT was a huge deal and she knew how much her friend hoped to being able and study fashion design there. What she didn’t understand, though, was why Thea hadn’t said anything earlier, especially to her.

“That is wonderful, dear. I’m very happy for you.”  
Thea tried to see any form of disapproval on her mother’s face, but instead she only found a sincere smile. Part of her had been afraid to reveal these news, even though they were very exciting to her. But since Oliver had dropped out of the position as future CEO of Queen Consolidated, she had feared that her parents would require her to take over the position one day and start studying at a respective college for that.  
She knew she couldn’t keep it from her parents forever. Seeing her mother so happy about her choice of college though was a huge relief for her.

“Well, since we’re all sharing wonderful news today, I guess I have one as well then.” Oliver suddenly piped up from the side, keeping his eyes solely on Felicity while he spoke. The girls’ acceptances to their colleges long forgotten, everyone at the table looked over at Oliver. He really hadn’t planned to do this over dinner with his mother and his sister around, but since they’d hear it anyway sooner or later, he could very well share the news now with them, too.  
“I found an apartment in the city, not too far from where I’m staying right now. It’s perfect, basically.”

Felicity’s eyes went wide at that. She knew Oliver had been a little frustrated that no apartment that his realtor had shown him suited his taste and if it did, it was way too expensive and out of his price range. At some point he’d even started to think about getting a loan, or maybe ask Tommy for one, just so he could buy an apartment he really liked. Felicity had talked him out of it, told him to wait a little longer and let the perfect apartment pop up for sale at a great price so he could snag it without having to rely on anyone’s money. Oliver agreed with her, but after another two weeks and no nice apartments in sight, she started to doubt her own motivational speech.  
“So?”

“I bought it.” he grinned.

Felicity could only return the smile. Up until that moment he’d always showed her pictures of the apartments he liked, even took her with him twice when he visited places. After a while she got a good idea of what he liked and how he envisioned his apartment, and she couldn’t help but admit that she really shared his taste. So him not showing her any pictures of the place he’d bought while telling her it was perfect, she could only imagine how the apartment would look like.

“But it’s still rented out, so we won’t be able to move in there before September.”

Wait, what?  
“We?” Felicity replied hesitantly, eyes wide, unsure if she’d heard him right.

Oliver smiled and took one of her hands from the table in his.  
“I’d like you to move in with me. I already wanted to ask you earlier, but with your college pick still in the loop, I had no idea if you’d even stay within the state. So I wanted to wait until you had your college picked and then ask you. And what better moment could I pick than this right now?” he smiled, cast a quick look over at his pretty surprised looking sister, on to his mother, who looked at them with nothing but contentment. He’d expected to at least hear some comment from his mother, but seeing her actually smiling at them relieved him.

Felicity looked over at Moira, clearly trying to figure out what her foster mother thought about all that. After all, it would mean another person would be moving out of the mansion soon, and since Thea’s college was also half an hour away, there was also the chance she’d find herself an apartment as well. For a moment she felt a little sad for her foster parents. The mansion was a huge house and up until Oliver’s move, it had always been filled with a flurry of activity. Now, since she spent most of her time with Oliver and Thea usually hung out with Tommy in the evenings, Raisa had already complained how eerily quiet it had gotten in the large building.

But then again it was expected for them to move out at some point, right? Even if the mansion was big enough to house another two families, Moira could’ve never expected them all to live together until they became old and grey, could she? And after all it had been Robert’s fault that sent Oliver away in the first place, starting the chain reaction that almost drove Felicity away as well.

Felicity thought she saw a flicker of sadness on her foster mother’s face that had quickly been covered with her patent smile. It seemed that Moira had finally realized that the relationship between her son and Felicity wasn’t just a silly hook-up, that there were actual feelings involved. It gave her hope that they had laid out the foundation so that Thea wouldn’t be thrown in a similar situation once she made her relationship to Tommy public.

 

That evening, they celebrated together in Oliver’s temporary apartment. He’d shown her pictures of the apartment, even though he was only allowed to take some very few ones since the home was still fully lived in. Tommy had texted him that evening, congratulating him on the apartment purchase and told him he could gladly stay in the loft until then.  
“Thea probably told him.” Felicity grinned, earning a small huff from Oliver. He still had trouble accepting that his little sister and his best friend were an item now, but of course, Felicity was right. What person could he more approve of for his little sister than the man he’d spent his entire life with already? He trusted Tommy more than he trusted his own parents, so there was no reason to not trust him with his little sister. Just getting accustomed to that was still giving him a hard time.

 

Since graduation was right around the corner, they decided to have the dinner date before, especially since they planned to start their graduation vacation in Idaho right after. The girls took the entire afternoon to get ready at Tommy’s place while both men waited for them in the living room, each sipping on a drink. The girls still hadn’t told them which restaurant they had picked, the only thing they knew were that, since Oliver and Felicity had won the fight, she’d let Thea pick the restaurant.

The girls looked incredible in their dresses and for the first time, Tommy felt more relaxed being able to openly check Thea out in front of someone else that it made Felicity smile. She could see that it had weighed on him to keep their relationship so secret and under wraps. Oliver still looked a bit uncomfortable when Thea walked over and leaned in to place a kiss on his best friend’s lips, but Felicity was quick to distract him with one of her own.

“You look absolutely gorgeous.” Oliver mumbled onto her lips and stole another quick kiss.

“I’m surprised you noticed between all the daggers you’re sending your best friend.” she giggled. Oliver wanted to roll his eyes, but had to admit she was right.  
“Just look at Thea,” she whispered and Oliver actually took the time to check his sister out. She was smiling so happily in Tommy’s arms, he wasn’t sure he’d ever seen her like that before.

“She looks happy.”

“Because she is.” she smiled and placed a hand over his heart, making him look back down at her. “Just like me.”

 

When John Diggle pulled up in front of Giacomo’s, both Tommy and Oliver’s eyes went wide in surprise. Only for different reasons. Oliver instantly remembered the place, transporting him back to the birthday surprise that Felicity had planned for him, that Tommy so gracefully messed up.  
Tommy, though, was once again surprised by his girlfriend. Given that this still was one of the most frequented places in Starling City with a wait list well over 3 months, even for the 1 Percenters like the Queens and Merlyn’s, he was almost starstruck by how Thea had managed to grab a table at that place. On such short notice, at that. Or maybe the girls had been plotting this for way longer and just didn’t tell them. Either way, he was happy to spend their official first night out as a couple, with their best friends in tow.

The night was still in full swing, but Thea and Oliver already planned another night out soon. It made Felicity happy that Oliver had overcome his grumpiness towards his best friend and even actively started making vacation plans with them. Just a month ago she wouldn’t have dared thinking about that. They’ve all been on that bumpy road, some maybe a little longer than others, but in the end, they all made it out just fine. Almost unscratched even, at least in Thea’s and her case. The faint bruises she could still see on Oliver’s cheek for days after the incident reminded her of that. Now, they could look forward into the future and for the first time in a long while, Felicity actually looked forward to that.

“Would you have thought we’d end up like this, 3 years ago when I came here?” Felicity asked with a low voice, breaking the silence between them when the car took them back to the mansion. She had snuggled into Oliver’s side while Thea mirrored her position in Tommy’s lap. Both men seemed so content, so relaxed, that no words needed to be spoken.

Thea looked up and smiled at her best friend.  
“Never.”

“You running away from that family was the best thing you’ve ever done.” Tommy piped in with a low voice and placed a soft kiss on Thea’s head.

Felicity thought about Tommy’s words for a moment. Thea only smiled and nodded slightly in agreement, seeming a little lost in memories. When she looked over her shoulder and saw Oliver gazing down at her, looking so happy and relaxed, she realized that Thea was right. Never in her wildest dreams would she have seen herself in this place when she first started her crazy journey across the country in hopes of a better life. Now, 3 years later and in the arms of the most wonderful guy she could ever call her boyfriend, she realized that, even though running away at 15 years and making a trip across the country with only 50$, a stolen bike and a few sandwiches probably was the most stupid thing she’d ever done, her life turned for the most perfect way in the end.

 

The girls graduated a week later and of course, Oliver and Tommy sat in the front row cheering for them. It was also the first time that Robert and Oliver had gotten within a radius of 10 feet with each other without shooting daggers. Oliver knew that Robert would be there but since it was Felicity’s big day, he focused entirely on her. He also helped Tommy to keep it on the low with the cuddles and heart eyes towards Thea since neither Moira nor Robert were aware of their relationship yet.

Since Felicity was valedictorian, the honor of holding a speech fell upon her. It had freaked her out for days, but thanks to some calming words from Moira and a few test runs with Oliver, she felt confident enough to step up to the podium and speak to the large crowd of graduates, teachers and families.

Oliver was one of the first to congratulate her and wrap her in his arms after the ceremony and even Robert offered her a small hug, something that she graciously accepted. She could see the men sharing a quick look and for a moment, she feared a situation might rise up. But then Robert gave his son a quick nod and turned his attention towards Thea. Oliver seemed just as surprised as she was, but he didn’t say anything about it. He knew all too well that this probably was the most he’d get from his father for the rest of the day.  
Even Raisa and John Diggle showed up to congratulate the girls. Moira had made a reservation but as soon as she announced their destination, Felicity could feel Oliver stiffen beside her.  
“Do you want to slip out early? I won’t be mad.” she whispered to him but he firmly shook his head.

“It’s your big day. I’m not going to leave your side only because my father will be there, too.”

It made her proud that Oliver was trying so hard for her. She knew how much he still hurt over his father’s actions and his unwillingness to make the first step to mend fences between them. So knowing both men sitting at a table for the first time in months, only because of her graduation, made Felicity happy, even though she was still cautious. But, like Raisa had once told her, even the smallest step is still a step forward.

 

Thea barely gave her time to pack the following day. Her foster-sister had been up and about so early, it actually surprised Felicity for a moment.  
“Get your lazy ass up, Fee. You can sleep on the jet!” she called from her room and Felicity could see clothes practically flying through the air when she opened her eyes.

Ever since Tommy had told them during dinner that they had the jet available and he’d cleared his schedule for a whole week, Thea had been a giddy and excited mess. It made Felicity laugh the entire evening. They quickly explained to Moira and Robert that they would be heading up to the lake house in Idaho to celebrate the graduation and that Oliver and Tommy would accompany them. For a second, Moira looked surprised that Tommy joined the group, but then she sent Oliver a quick look and dropped the thought again, much to Felicity’s relief. She really didn’t want to have to explain that one over dinner.

Since Oliver still had some early morning errands to run and Tommy needed to get the jet ready, the group parted ways after dinner and Felicity spent the night at the mansion, something she now dearly regretted, with Thea basically jumping through her room and messing up her closet.  
With a groan she flipped back the covers and looked up at her best friend.  
“How can you be so full of energy, Thea? It’s super early, even by my standards, which means it’s still basically the middle of the night for you!”

“We’re going on a vacation, Fee! Just the four of us. School is over and we’ve got a whole few weeks to ourselves! How the hell should I not be excited?”

“If only you’d have shown so much excitement to get to school every day.” she mumbled into her sheet before she got out of bed. Her bags were already packed, sitting beside her desk. Of course, Thea was a little late on that one, too. Thank heavens they had a private jet because Felicity doubted her best friend would be able to find whatever she was looking for in time, if she kept up with messing up both their closets like that.

As soon as they reached ground and Tommy and Oliver loaded the bags into their rental, Felicity’s excitement - level also picked up a notch. It had been weeks since she’d last been there and even though the house had just very few remnants of her parents, she still missed being there. Tommy and Thea also seemed eager to see the house she and Oliver had been talking about so much.

 

“A whole week in this place. This is amazing!” Thea called in awe as soon as Felicity turned the key and opened the front door. When Felicity took a step inside, she immediately sensed something different than the last time she’d been there. Looking around, she found several bags full of groceries waiting for them in the kitchen as well as a few knick knacks thrown here and there. She spotted an afghan draped over the couch that she hadn’t seen before, fresh flowers on nearly every flat surface and the furniture out on the patio had their seat cushions in place. Someone had been here before them and prepared the house for their arrival.  
When Oliver stepped inside she whirled around and stared at him. The small wink that he sent her told her all she needed to know. So that were the few errands he still had to run this morning. Sending him a thankful smile, she led Thea out towards the patio overlooking the lake while Tommy and Oliver got their bags upstairs to the bedrooms.

 

The first thing they did was changing into swimming gear and firing up the boat that was waiting for them at the dock. After a few rounds up and down the lake, a swim stop and a picnic out on the water, the group made their way back to the lodge.

“This is heaven.” Tommy sighed when Oliver steered the boat back to the dock. Thea was lying by his side, the sun warming their skin. Felicity couldn’t agree more. Now that all secrets were out between them, everyone felt so much more relaxed. Even Oliver, who’d even finally stopped scowling whenever Tommy and Thea kissed.

After returning from dinner at the small restaurant in town, they’d shared a bottle of wine out on the patio and let the first day pass by.

“It’s so peaceful here,” Thea spoke up. “So much different to Starling City.”

“Yeah, my brain is a little confused for all the noise it isn’t hearing.” Tommy chuckled, making the rest of the group laugh.

“Talking about brains,” Felicity stretched and stifled a yawn. “Mine is beat. I’ll head to bed. See you tomorrow morning.” she smiled, grabbed her wine glass and headed inside. Oliver didn’t seem tired yet and she didn’t expect him to follow her, which was why she let out a surprised gasp when he suddenly wrapped his strong arms around her on the stairway and nuzzled her neck.  
“I didn’t expect you to come with me.” she chuckled when his nose tickled the skin behind her ear. They slowly made their way to the upper floor.

“I missed you last night,” he murmured into her neck and sweeped her off her feet to carry her upstairs the rest of the way. “And I wanted to give Tommy and Thea a little privacy.”

“That’s very sweet of you.” she smiled and cupped his cheek. When she saw where he was heading though, her back went rigid for a moment.  
“Oliver, that’s my parents’ room. I have my stuff in the guestroom.”

“It’s your room now, and you haven’t. I put everything in there when you were out on the patio with Thea.” he smiled and stepped into the large master bedroom with the massive window front overlooking the Coeur d’Alene. She found her bags sitting in front of the drawer, but she also saw fresh sheets and new pillows on the large bed.  
“Besides,” he murmured into her ear when he set her down again. “Tommy needs the room.”  
When she sent him a very surprised look, he merely quirked an eyebrow.  
“I threatened to cut his hands off if he even thinks of sharing a room with Thea. So he’ll need your guest room.” He wrapped his arms around her from behind and rested his chin on her shoulder, both looking over the bed and the framed picture of her parents on one of the nightstands that Oliver had placed there. “This is your house now, and your parents wouldn’t want you anywhere than in this bed. I’m not so sure they would approve of the man you’re sharing the bed with, but that’s beside the point.” he joked but Felicity turned in his arms and looked up at him.

“They would love you,” she smiled and cupped his face in both hands. “They would love you because they would see how much I love you and how happy you make me.”  
When she saw the flicker of lust in his eyes, she gave him a quick slap on the chest.  
“But we’re not christening my parents’ bed!” she laughed.

“Oh, I wouldn’t mind fucking you on this rug.” he grinned and turned her around again, making her face the large glass balcony doors. “Or against that railing overlooking the lake.” he murmured into her ear while his fingers trailed down her ribs, making her shiver.

“Tommy and Thea could hear us.” she whispered and reached behind herself to the front of his pants. The growl that it earned her was almost feral and made her grow bolder. She squeezed her hand cupping his bulge once, and that growl behind her only intensified.

“Do that again and I’ll have you bent over in 5 seconds and make sure the entire state will hear you scream when you come.”

“Is that a promise?” she whispered back, almost seductively. Where that boldness suddenly came from, she had no idea, especially since for all she knew, Thea and Tommy were still sitting just one floor under them and would easily hear them of Oliver made good on his threat.

Oliver growled once, but didn’t say anything. Instead, he picked her up again and carried her over to the en suite bathroom, much to Felicity’s relief. She really had no intentions on giving her best friend and the rest of the neighborhood a show.  
He put her down beside the twin sinks and turned on the faucet of the large walk-in shower.  
“I’ll tell you what we’re going to do.” he spoke with a determined, hungry look in his eyes while he pulled his shirt off. “First we’re going to christen this shower, then the sink and then we’re going to christen this bed over there so hard, you’ll fear it might break.” he growled at her and made quick work of her shirt. It had been too long since they had the chance to do that, with her graduation coming up and everything she had to prepare. Oliver understood and supported her, but that didn’t mean that they both didn’t miss the sex. A lot.

“Game on.” she grinned at him and made quick work of her shorts and underwear. Suddenly she wasn’t that tired any more.

 

\---------------------------

 

“This feels a little bit like Paris all over again,” Thea confessed with a dreamy sigh while they emptied the bottle of wine after Oliver and Felicity had left.

“Only now we don’t have to make sure Oliver doesn’t hear us.” Tommy replied with a small nod, remembering how he’d dragged Thea into the bathroom and kissed her senseless after seeing her standing in front of his room.

“Yeah no, given the sounds that are coming from upstairs right now I’m pretty sure we don’t have to worry about either of them for a while.” she laughed with a roll of her eyes. Tommy couldn’t agree more. His best friend had never been very... discreet, so to speak, whenever they hooked up with some girls in the past, but since most of the sounds he could hear right now definitely were coming from a woman and not his best friend, he was a little surprised. He’d never pegged Felicity for being such a vocal person in bed, not that he ever thought about her that way. It just didn’t seem to fit with her nature.

These thoughts inevitably brought him over to his girlfriend sitting just a few feet away, sipping on her wine. It made him wonder if she would be just as vocal in bed, or if she’d be more of a silent one. He wouldn’t mind either way, but the words his best friend had given him just after their arrival still sat on the forefront of his mind. There was no way in hell he was going to jeopardize Oliver’s acceptance of their relationship by spending the night in one room with Thea, no matter how much he wanted that. Besides, it was probably for the best since he was sure he wouldn’t be able to keep his hands to himself and Thea, the little minx, would only encourage him. And they couldn’t do that for another few weeks, at least.

 

The activities in the master bedroom had died down to some faint moans that, even though they weren’t as prominent any more as they were when Thea and Tommy were sitting outside, were still very clear to hear in the long hallway. It made Tommy shake his head with a chuckle and Thea gag at the thought of her brother being naked behind that door.

Thea tried to put up some protest when he told her she couldn’t stay with him, not even for a few cuddles, but, much to his surprise, she gave up way sooner than he thought. Maybe the adventurous day and the bottle of wine had helped him with that.

He was just about to turn off the lights when the door to his room opened and a bare footed Thea tiptoed inside.  
“Babe, what are you -”

“I am not going to sleep alone without having the chance to at least snuggle up to you for a bit.” Thea whispered with a firm voice and closed the door behind her. Tommy wanted to protest, he really did, but she was on the bed and under his covers so fast, he really had no idea what to do. Snuggling he could do, as long as there were still some layers of clothing between them. Thankfully, the moans coming from the other room had died down, helping him to keep his erection at bay. A man could only take so much and with his hot girlfriend pushing her backside into his groin, he really didn’t need to hear any sex noises to top that off.

He pressed a soft kiss to her temple and pulled her closer towards his chest, but kept the nightstand light on so he wouldn’t fall asleep. She still needed to sleep in her own bed so Oliver wouldn’t get suspicious in the morning.

It took him exactly 15 seconds until he was dead asleep.

 

Tommy looked a bit confused when he opened his eyes the next morning and saw Felicity leaning over the bed, but as soon as he spotted the mass of dark hair in front of him, hogging his pillow and practically all of the sheets, he jerked up right.  
“It’s alright,” Felicity whispered with a smile, “I just wanted to let you know that breakfast will be ready in 10 minutes.”

Tommy quickly scanned the room but couldn’t see anyone besides Thea lying in his arms and Felicity standing at the foot of the bed.  
“Oliver?” he whispered, almost afraid to hear the answer. He really didn’t want to ruin what had taken quite a while for his best friend to accept by jeopardizing the first and only rule he’d ever made about Thea.

“I’ll take care of that. Just get your asses down in 15 minutes.” Felicity smiled and was out the door as silently as she had entered it.

Oliver never said a word about it during breakfast. He seemed to be in such a good mood that Tommy was half afraid the man was up to something. But back in the kitchen Felicity confirmed him that she’d talked to Oliver and that she’d told him she had seen Thea sleeping in his arms this morning, both fully clothed. Apparently he’d grumbled only once about it but then nodded and went on cutting fruits for breakfast.  
It surprised the hell out of Tommy, but he wasn’t one to complain, of course.

 

When they returned back home a few days later, everyone felt relaxed and recharged. Tommy had insisted on doing this trip at least twice a year, something that everyone on the group quickly agreed to. Felicity had made sure to leave some of her favorite toiletries there, just in case Oliver and her wanted to make a quick trip, but other than that, she left the house with renewed energy and more good memories of her parents.

 

Thea’s 18th birthday was, despite what everyone thought, a very relaxed party with just a handful of guests. At least in Thea’s eyes. Felicity hardly called 30 people a ‘handful’, but then again anything different from her best friend would have only surprised her. With the guests arriving early in the afternoon to make use of the pool and the sunny weather, the Queen family, along with Tommy and Raisa, had gathered on the pool deck earlier to have a few drinks and hand out gifts. There was still a bit of tension in the air, but this time it wasn’t directed at Oliver or Felicity, it was solely on Thea and Tommy.  
Just the day before, Thea had come clean about her relationship with Tommy. To say Moira was surprised would have been an understatement, and Tommy wanted nothing more than the ground to swallow him up when the Queen head looked over at him. For a long moment no one said anything in the room, but then Moira rubbed her temple and sent Thea a small smile.

“Well you certainly could have picked worse.” she spoke with a low voice, probably more to herself than anyone at the table, but it still made Thea grin and Tommy’s shoulders relax a little. Maybe the situation with Oliver and Felicity had taught the Queen head more than anyone could have guessed.

That still didn’t mean that Tommy felt comfortable to touch Thea whenever one of her parents was around though. Especially Robert, who had been absent at the time when Thea dropped the bomb on her mother, didn’t need another incentive to throw a fit, or possibly kick another member of the family to the curb. So an uneasy tension filled the patio on her birthday, thanks to Oliver still feeling uncomfortable in his father’s presence and Tommy trying his hardest to keep his hands off Thea and look casual.

Thankfully, Felicity came to save the day when she announced Thea should open her gifts now, since later won’t be any time for that. Thea whirled around in her chair when Felicity slipped inside and came back out with a gift that covered almost her entire torso.

They were all interested to see what was hiding behind that wrapping paper and as soon as Thea had ripped it open, her eyes went wide.  
“A Galliano designer sketch? Where in the world did you find that?” Thea squealed with excitement.

“Poker?” Tommy mumbled from the side, making Felicity snicker. She remembered the day all too well when he took her to the poker game to win the signed baseball for Oliver. Thea’s gift though was one she had bought herself weeks ago when she spotted it for sale at an auction. It looked like the perfect gift for her birthday.

After a bear hug with her best friend, Thea set the framed sketch aside and opened the next gift. The one Oliver had gotten her was a little smaller, but most definitely heavier than Felicity’s.  
The Vivienne Westwood book and the large amounts of vintage fabric that Oliver had gotten her made her eyes light up.  
“Oh my god, Ollie, these are perfect!” she squealed and started to inspect the different designs and styles he’d gotten her. “I’m so going to make a dress out of that one!”

She was almost too lost in the fabrics to notice Tommy getting out of his lounger and slipping inside. When he returned back, he placed a large box in front of her, right at her feet. This was by far the largest and heaviest of the gifts she’d received. The envelopes her parents had handed her didn’t count, of course, even though Thea was grateful that her parents promised her to cover any college and tuition fees out of their pocket so she wouldn’t have to worry about having to work while studying. But Tommy’s gift definitely excited her the most out of all of them, even though she hadn’t even opened it.

When she ripped open the gift wrapper and saw the first image of a sewing machine on the box, her eyes went wide in shock. With quick hands she removed the rest of the wrapping paper and looked over at Tommy with wide eyes.  
“You got me a commercial sewing machine?” she asked him, completely stunned.

“The best one out on the market right now. I asked a designer for recommendations.” Tommy proudly replied. Unless the times when he had to find gifts for Oliver or Felicity, it hadn’t taken him long to find the perfect one for Thea. He knew she’d need a sewing machine at some point and he wanted to make sure she got the best one out there when she started college.

Without thinking about it, Thea had jumped into his arms and pressed her lips firmly on his. In the distance, he could hear a sharp intake of breath and he had no idea who that was coming from. He could only imagine the look on Robert’s face right now and for the first time he was thankful that Oliver and Felicity were sitting between them, acting as a barrier should shit hit the fan.

Much to his surprise, it didn’t. When Thea pulled back, all eyes were on them, but no one said a word. Even more, Oliver seemed more relaxed than he’d been before, probably since Robert’s attention was now solely on Tommy.

“I need a drink.” Robert suddenly announced and got up from his lounger. He walked inside without another glance back and didn’t return for a full 20 minutes.

“He’ll come around.” was all Moira had said to Thea before following her husband inside, leaving the group alone in the garden.

“So... that could’ve went worse.” Tommy mused, earning a chuckle from Oliver and Felicity. Thea didn’t reply, she was still too engrossed with the sewing machine and the stuff everyone had gotten her to even think about her parents’ reactions.

They didn’t see Robert or Moira out on the patio after that. Felicity could only imagine the discussion that must be undoubtedly going on inside right now, but since Moira had looked accepting and Robert hadn’t made a scene, Felicity didn’t worry too much for her friend. At least things weren’t as rocky as they were when the Queens found out about her relationship with Oliver.

 

 

Just when college was about to start for the girls, things started to get a little hectic again. Thea had decided to stay at the Queen mansion but rented a dorm room at her college where she spent her weekdays, while Oliver and Felicity were busy packing everything up for their recent move. Moira even helped her pack some things one afternoon, seeming a little reluctant to see her foster kid, someone she’d grown quite fond of in the last 3 years, moving out permanently while her other daughter would only be home for the weekends. It helped that Felicity would move in with Oliver rather than living alone, but still Moira looked unhappy to see all her family members slowly leaving the big house.

After getting most of her stuff boxed up at the mansion, Felicity pulled up at Oliver’s temporary place to help him pack his last belongings.  
They were sitting on the couch with chinese takeout in their lap when Oliver brought up the uncomfortable topic Felicity had tried to avoid for a few weeks now.  
“Raisa will make sure the fridge is filled when we move in so we won’t have to go shopping before you start college. If there’s anything you want, just let her know.” he casually told her, not even bothering to look up from his food.

Felicity halted her chopsticks mid-motion at his words. That was exactly why she avoided that topic like the plague.  
“Oliver,” she began and threw her chopsticks into the takeout box with a sigh, setting it on the coffee table. “I already told you I don’t want to rely on you or your family. You won’t let me pay any rent? Fine. But I’m not letting you overrun me with grocery costs as well. I already told you I’ll pay for that, and I will. I’m not letting you pay for everything while I share that apartment with you. You want us to be equal partners, then I’ll damn well pay my share of the costs.” she told him with a firm voice. Oliver could see the annoyed look on her face. They’d already had two heated discussions about sharing the costs of the apartment, something that Oliver firmly disagreed.

“Sweetheart,” he began and had to force back the chuckle that rose up in him when he saw the major side eye that Felicity was sending him. Most of the time his ‘sweetheart-tactic’ worked wonders with her. Today apparently wasn’t one of those days, though.  
“You start college in a few days and there’s no way in hell I’m going to agree to letting you work at that damn coffee shop while you should take that time to study instead!” he shot back, exhausted at having to discuss that topic with her again. The day she told him she was planning to work part time at the coffee shop in their neighborhood to pay her shares of the apartment, they ended the day with a major argument before heading to bed. Of course the sex afterwards was incredible, but he really didn’t want to have to fight her over this again.

“God, you sound like your parents.” Felicity mumbled, making Oliver sit ramrod straight for a moment. When she saw the surprise and hurt written all over his face, she instantly regretted blabbering this out.  
“I’m sorry, that came out wrong. But Oliver, can’t you understand that I want to be independent for once? I’ve relied on your parents for so long and while I’m beyond grateful that you asked me to move in with you, I’m not going to let you treat me like you’re my sugar daddy or something.”  
She sighed and looked up at him. His features had softened a bit again but he still looked like he was about to argue with her about this.  
“And it’s not only about paying my share of our living costs. I also have college fees to pay off, Oliver.”  
When he was about to say something, Felicity immediately stopped him with a raised hand.  
“And don’t bother offering you paying for it. I won’t take anyone’s money. Not your parent’s, and not yours. You know that.”

Of course she wouldn’t. Felicity never coped well with having to ask other people for help, especially not when it came to financial things. It was still very clear in his mind how much she tried to talk Thea out of it when they bought the bus ticket for her to get her to Starling City 3 years ago; or how much she avoided using the credit card Moira had handed her shortly after taking her into the family. It wasn’t like Felicity to let other people financially support her. But maybe that wasn’t needed at all.

A sudden idea struck with Oliver that lit his entire face up, making Felicity narrow her eyes at him.  
“What if you loan yourself the money?”

With a confused frown, Felicity stared straight at her boyfriend.  
“Care to explain? Because I have no idea what you’re talking about, Oliver.”

He quickly threw his food container on the coffee table and turned to face her on the couch.  
“You inherited all that money from your parents, right? Well and since I can imagine your parents wanted you to use it for your career, it would only make sense if you paid your tuition fees with that money.”

The moment she realized where Oliver’s idea headed, she firmly started shaking her head.  
“Not happening, Oliver. I’m not taking my parents’ money; money that I just found out about a few weeks ago, and spend it for my college fees!”

“I thought you’d say that.” he grinned with a wink. “But what about loaning it yourself? You could take whatever amount you’d need for college, and pay yourself back over a certain amount of time. That way you wouldn’t have to ask anyone but you about the money, and you wouldn’t have to deal with finding a job that earns you enough but still gives you the time to focus on your studies.”

Felicity seemed to contemplate his idea for a moment. It wasn’t too bad. She could take the money she’d need for college and pay herself back whenever she had the money available, without any trouble of having to pay interest to a bank.

“And I can’t believe I’m actually saying this, but if you want to work at that damn coffee shop once or twice a week to pay for our groceries, then that’s fine with me, too. As long as you feel you can manage with studying, though and still have time for your boyfriend.” Oliver added, stopping her in her thoughts for a moment.

With a proud grin Felicity nodded and jumped across the couch to hug him. Bargaining over things with a stubborn hardhead like Oliver never was an easy feast, but coming to mutual agreements with him was still the most satisfying thing ever for her because it proved her that they were equal parts in their relationship.

30 minutes and one phone call later, and she had scored her first trial workday at Double Coffee for the following week. Oliver didn’t look completely happy with it, but at least he wasn’t arguing over it with her any longer. Felicity took that as a little victory.

Thea called when they were lounging on the couch later that evening. The girls hadn’t seen each other for days now but since they were both busy packing their stuff and spending the rest of the time with their boyfriends, neither of them complained much. With just 30 miles between the colleges, they could easily visit each other whenever time allowed them to.

 

3 days later, Oliver steered the car through the streets of Starling City to their new destination. Felicity still hadn’t seen the apartment in person and was so excited she couldn’t stop asking him about it. The movers had finished getting their stuff into the apartment just the night before, so Oliver couldn’t wait any longer to show her their new place.

During dinner the night before with Tommy and Thea he’d shown her pictures of the newly painted walls in the living room, but other than that, only Tommy had seen the finished apartment so far. Thea was just as excited to visit them soon and Tommy demanded a housewarming party as soon as they got the chance to get together again.

So when they stepped out of the elevator and stopped in front of the frosted glass door leading to their apartment, Oliver stopped and took a deep breath for a moment. This door was the last barrier separating from their new life together, officially as a couple, in their first own apartment. It already felt so stark different to anything he’d felt in the mansion or even the temporary loft that he couldn’t wait to open that door and start his life with her for real.

When she looked up at him, excitement shining in her eyes, he couldn’t help but smile. He loved seeing her happy like that and couldn’t wait to explore their happiness much further. Starting with their own 4 walls.

“Ready?” he asked her with a small smile and pulled out a set of keys from his jeans pocket. Felicity nodded eagerly after taking a deep breath.

“Ready.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it! We're done with this story! :)
> 
> Back when I first had this idea of Felicity being a teenage girl, living in poor adoptive conditions with a major crush on her best friend's older brother Oliver, no way in hell I would have thought that this could turn into a 200+k / 26 Chapter - story! Almost exactly 1 year ago I started this story with a crazy idea and now I feel a bit sad to see it coming to an end. But what a fun ride it was!
> 
> I sincerely want to thank all readers of this story! All your comments, whether they were positive or negative, helped me improve this story with each and every chapter. I loved reading all your opinions and even some great ideas (that I took to heart and sometimes even put into the story) and without you, I'm not sure I would have finished this story. ♥
> 
> Now I'm on to do the same thing about **The Blind Side**! :D


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